The first thing I hear is Damian saying my name.
Not calm. Not controlled. Stripped of every careful layer he wears when the world is watching. It cuts through the dark like a hand reaching for me, pulling hard, refusing to let go.
“Elena. Elena, stay with me.”
I surface slowly, like my body is dragging itself up from deep water. Everything feels thick. Heavy. Sound reaches me late, as if it has to push through layers before it arrives. Light comes in fragments, pulsing red and white behind my closed eyes.
My head throbs.
The pain is dull, insistent, like pressure rather than impact. I try to move and realize I’m already moving. Being moved. The world rocks beneath me, a rhythmic sway that doesn’t match my breathing. It makes my stomach turn.
“Ambulance is three minutes out,” someone
