The words faded slowly in Lia Thompson's mind.
"Please hold on…"
Ryan's voice felt far away now.
Like it was coming through water.
Her fingers loosened around his hand.
She tried to stay awake.
She really did.
But her body wasn't listening anymore.
Everything hurt.
Everything blurred.
Everything slipped away.
And then—
Nothing.
"LIA!"
Ryan's voice cracked inside the car.
Her hand went limp.
Ryan froze instantly.
"Lia?"
No response.
"Lia, hey—look at me."
Ethan's eyes flicked to the mirror immediately.
His jaw tightened.
"Ryan…"
Ryan didn't hear him.
He gently shook her shoulder.
"Lia, don't do this. Stay with me."
Still nothing.
That silence—
That empty silence—
was louder than anything else that night.
Ryan's breathing started shaking.
"No… no no no…"
His arms pulled her closer instinctively.
"Ethan, drive faster."
Ethan didn't answer.
He just pressed harder on the accelerator.
The car sped through the empty road.
Streetlights flashing over Lia's unconscious face.
Ryan kept watching her.
Watching for anything.
A blink.
A breath.
A movement.
But there was almost nothing.
Just stillness.
And blood drying near her hairline.
Ryan's voice dropped.
Almost broken.
"She was talking to me…"
Ethan didn't respond.
Ryan swallowed hard.
"She said she was scared…"
His grip tightened around her hand.
"I told her she'd be okay…"
His voice cracked completely.
"And now she's not even waking up…"
Ethan finally spoke, quieter than before.
"She's still alive, Ryan."
A pause.
"Focus."
Ryan shut his eyes tightly.
Trying to breathe.
Trying not to fall apart.
But his chest hurt too much.
Because this wasn't supposed to happen.
Not her.
Not Lia.
The girl who laughed at his stupid jokes.
The girl who argued with him over nothing.
The girl who made everything feel lighter.
Now she was completely still.
And that terrified him more than anything.
Minutes later—
Sirens appeared in the distance.
The hospital lights came into view.
Ethan pulled into the emergency entrance hard.
The car barely stopped before Ryan was already opening the door.
"Help!"
Ryan shouted immediately.
His voice echoed through the hospital entrance.
Nurses rushed out instantly.
"What happened?!"
Ryan lifted Lia carefully.
His hands shaking so badly he almost dropped her.
"She collapsed—she was kidnapped—please help her!"
The nurses immediately took her.
"Put her on the stretcher—fast!"
Ryan didn't let go at first.
His hands stayed on her sleeve.
Like if he let go—
she would disappear.
"Sir, we need space."
Ryan blinked.
Slowly—
he let go.
The stretcher rolled away quickly through the doors.
And just like that—
Lia was gone again.
Ryan stood frozen.
His hands still hovering in the air.
Empty.
Ethan stepped beside him quietly.
"Come on."
Ryan didn't move.
Then slowly—
he followed.
Both boys walked into the hospital.
Covered in dust.
Covered in fear.
Covered in blood that wasn't theirs.
And for the first time that night—
they weren't rivals.
They were just two boys waiting for the same girl to survive.