Vera

The sound was the same one that had haunted my nightmares for years the long, steady, shrill flatline of a heart that had stopped.

“Vanessa!”

I clutched her small hand as nurses rushed in, shouting numbers and orders I couldn’t understand. The monitors blinked red; the doctor’s voice cut through the panic “Get the crash cart!” and everything blurred.

Someone pulled me back, but I fought them. Nicolas’s arms locked around me from behind. He was shaking too, whispering my name, ...