ARIA'S POV
The first thing I noticed was the ceiling. It was white, clean and not concrete.
My brain took a moment to catch up with my eyes, and for a few seconds I just lay there, blinking at it, trying to figure out why it felt so strange to look at something so ordinary.
Then everything came back. It wasn't all at once, rather it came slowly, like pages turning in a book.
Sarah. The rooftop. The weight of the vest on my chest. Andrew's voice. The shot. I closed my eyes again.
My body felt heavy in a way that had nothing to do with tiredness. Like something had been wrung out of me and not put back.
My throat was dry, my limbs were sore, and there was a dull ache behind my eyes that pulsed faintly with every heartbeat.
But I was alive... I was actually alive.
I opened my eyes again, slower this time, and let the room come into focus. The soft beeping of a monitor somewhere to my left.
