Aria

I was bone-tired, mentally, physically, whatever came after that. The kind of tiredness that settled in your spine and made even blinking feel like an effort.

I pushed through the hospital doors into the fading evening light, the sky a smudge of deep blue and pink, and spotted Lena and the other first-year residents just a few feet ahead.

For a second, I considered ducking back inside, maybe pretending I forgot something or hiding in the bathroom until they disappeared. But I was too ...