Alaric…
Stop, don't come here!
Elena wanted to say but somehow it didn't reach him… he came running toward her…
But then everything came crashing down when she heard the gunshot… the way his body jerked as the bullet hit him… the blood spreading through his shirt.
Elena's eyes snapped open.
"No…" the word slipped out weakly, barely forming as her eyes darted around the room, panic rising too fast for her to contain it.
A distant beeping sound.
A dull ache spread through her body. The faint smell of antiseptic lingering in the air.
Her brows furrowed slightly as her fingers twitched against the bedsheet beneath them, the sensation unfamiliar, heavy, as if her body didn't fully belong to her yet.
Then came the light.
Too bright.
Her eyes fluttered open, only to shut again immediately, her lashes trembling against the harshness. A soft groan escaped her lips before she slowly tried again, this time forcing herself to adjust to the white ceiling.
