Chapter 4: Awakening
Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting warm golden stripes across Clara’s hospital bed. Her eyelids fluttered open, heavy and swollen. The faint smell of clean linen slowly replaced the memory of smoke and crushed concrete.
She turned her head slowly, feeling a sharp ache in her neck. Ryan was asleep in the chair beside her, his hand still holding hers, his breathing heavy with exhaustion.
""Ryan..."" she rasped, her throat dry like sandpaper.
Ryan jolted awake instantly. His eyes, rimmed with red, locked onto hers. In a fraction of a second, he leaned over the bed, his voice trembling. ""Clara? Hey... hey, don't try to move.""
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Tears trickled down her smudged cheeks. ""You came for me...""
""Always,"" Ryan choked back a sob, gently pressing his lips to her hair. ""I’ll always come for you.""
