Chapter 18 The Lesson

• I woke up to the harsh smell of antiseptic, my body aching in ways that didn’t feel natural.
• The room was dim, the light overhead too weak to chase away the shadows that clung to the edges of the space. My mouth was dry, my throat raw, and every breath felt like it had to fight its way past the thick fog in my head. It took me a moment to piece together where I was—the sterile white walls, the beeping machines, the heavy scent of blood masked by chemicals.
• The hospital.