Chapter Text
The next breath I take feels like drowning.
I gasp, sharp and messy, air dragging into my lungs like it doesn’t belong there. The light above me is blinding. Cold sheets under my skin. Beeping. Machines. My arm’s got something stuck in it.
I choke.
My throat is dry. My chest aches like it’s full of lead. I try to sit up and the pain hits hard, like a wave crashing down. Everything in my body screams don’t move.
“Sydney?”
A woman’s voice — unfamiliar. Gentle. Close.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You’re in the hospital. You’re safe.”
I blink up at her. She’s in scrubs. Brown eyes. Soft hands.
“You’ve been asleep for a while,” she says. “Don’t try to talk yet.”
I want to ask where my family is.
I want to ask what happened.
I want to know if I’m still dreaming.
Because I still feel it — the fire in my gut. The fear in my chest.
Lisa’s voice in my ears.
I blink again and try to speak.
“…my mom and dad?”
“Your dad is on his way,” the nurse says softly. “We called him. He’ll be here soon.”
Why are they only mentioning my dad? I think nothing of it and I nod. Or try to.
And then I wait. Eyes half-closed. Drifting in and out of sleep that doesn’t feel real. My mind still stuck in that day, replaying the sound of the shot over and over and over.