“Sir! Please step back!”
Marcus barely heard the paramedic.
He was already on his knees beside Sophia, his hands shaking as he reached for her. Blood trickled from the side of her head, dark against the cracked asphalt, staining the road beneath her. Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t moving.
“Sophia…”
His voice cracked. He called her name again, louder this time. “Please… wake up.”
A woman standing nearby covered her mouth. “Oh, God…” Another man crouched beside him and spoke firmly. “Don’t move her. She could have injured her spine.”
Marcus pulled his hand back at once. His chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. “No… no…”
The ambulance siren grew louder until the vehicle screeched to a halt beside the gathering crowd. Two paramedics jumped out with a stretcher. “Everyone, give us
