Leo had figured out how to sleep in a chair, but honestly, it was a joke. He never really slept.
His brain stayed half-awake, tuned to every sound the hum from the hallway lights, nurses' shoes on linoleum, random beeps from monitors.
They all blended together, and he stopped noticing them.
But early that morning, something shifted. A new alarm punched through the room, sharp and urgent.
Leo woke before he even realized he was awake, some part of him snapping from sleep.
The overhead lights snapped on, way too bright.
Two nurses crowded around his mother's bed, moving fast.
A third popped her head in the doorway, asking, "Sir—"
Leo's whole body was already moving. "What's happening?" His voice sounded thin, like he barely had it.
"We need you both to step outside—"
He looked straight at her. "What's happening?"
She didn't flinch. "Sir. Please. Let us work."
Lila, bleary-eyed, fumbled out of her chair, hair wild from sleep.
