"R…"
"Ry…!"
"Rya—!"
"Ryan!"
"RYAN!"
"Ugh!"
I jolted awake as someone shouted directly beside my ear.
For a few seconds, everything was blurred.
My eyes opened slowly, struggling to focus in the weak white light filling the shop. The battery lamp had been turned on at some point. Its dim glow barely reached the far corners of the room, but it was enough for me to see Maribel leaning over me.
She looked terrified.
"Ryan?" She called again, one hand gripping my shoulder. "Ryan, are you okay?"
I tried to answer, but pain cut through my head before I could get the words out.
"Fuck…"
The dizziness was brutal.
It felt as if I had been dragged out of a deep sleep too fast, except it was worse than that. A sharp sting ran behind my eyes. My ears buzzed so loudly that I could barely hear Maribel's voice, even though she was right in front of me.
I pressed my palms against the sides of my head.
Was this because of Runis?
