** Poppy’s POV **

Ronnie doesn’t waste time after that. Blood samples are taken quickly from us all. Jake handles most of it with steady hands and a focused expression, as if he’s clinging to something he understands. Something that makes sense to him… science.

I can barely feel the needle. Or maybe I do, and it just doesn’t register. As if it belongs to someone else, I watch it slide into my arm, like I’ve detached myself from my own body. The room feels distant, as if ...