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I felt hot. I tried to move, but not even my fingers twitched.
So tired.
There was a prick in my arm, and then everything went blissfully silent again.
There was that beeping noise again. Why wouldn’t someone turn it off? Was I the only one hearing it?
I was warm. Comfortable. I was cocooned in a cloud. Something soft brushed across my hair. I wanted to lean into the gentle touch, but my body didn’t cooperate.
A hushed conversation near the bed. Then the mattress moved as if someone sat down.
I didn’t want to share my bed.
So warm.
A familiar, warm hand engulfed mine. There was no more pain. No more fear. I could just be. My fingers twitched, and the hand squeezed mine. Then someone traced a finger down my cheek.
“Everleigh? Can you hear me?”
The voice flowed around me like honey.
So happy.
“Why’s she not waking up?”
There was the beautiful voice again. I wanted to tell him to say more, but my mouth wasn’t working. My eyes were heavy, but I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted more of the voice. And the touch. Where was the hand?
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”
“It’s been four days.”
The voice was angry. I preferred the honey.
So sleepy.
The weight of the blankets was crushing me.Why do I have so many blankets on me? Was I cold when I went to bed last night?
My sluggish mind was still playing catch-up. Fragments hit me, forcing me to remember.
The cliff. Cold water.
Where am I?
I wiggled my toes. Flexed my fingers. My body was slowly cooperating. At least all my limbs were still attached and working. Each movement caused pain to shoot up and down every inch of my body, which I took as a good sign. If I felt pain, I must still be alive.
My eyes slowly opened, and I blinked into the dark room. I swallowed, my mouth dry. My hands slowly made their way out of the blankets, and I pushed the heavy covers off my body. I sighed in relief once I shoved all the blankets away, each movement painful, my arms weak. I was sweaty and unsettled.
I moved with an aching slowness, pushing into a seated position on the edge of the bed. My feet were dangling off the side, my legs not quite long enough to touch the floor. I paused to catch my breath and took in my surroundings, my aching ribs a reminder of what had happened.
My eyes fell on the chair near the bed. A dark shape was sitting in it, unmoving. Their breathing was even, the slow rise and fall of their chest telling me they were asleep.
Careful not to wake the person assigned to guard me, I slowly stood up. The room started spinning and I had to hold on to the bed. I made it to the bathroom after an agonizingly slow shuffle and closed the door behind me, slumping against it.
My body was sluggish to respond. My arm felt like it was filled with lead when I lifted it to turn on the light. I snapped my eyes shut at the sudden brightness, black spots dancing in my vision.
What a clusterfuck of a mess.Things had gone from bad to worse in the span of one bad decision. And why wasn’t I dead?
I lifted my eyes to assess the damage I had done to myself and sucked a sharp breath in at my reflection. My face was black and blue, my hair one gigantic rat’s nest and my eyes bloodshot.
