Kai lay in the stark hospital room, IV tubes coiling around his arm like cold snakes. White walls reflected fluorescent calm, masking the chaos beneath. His eyes fluttered open to the harsh ceiling lights, vision blurry, pulse trying to settle. The memory of impact, shards of windshield, the ringing in his head echoed continuously.

Margaret sat beside him in a plastic chair, trembling. Her fingers twined around the note she brought it was the reminder of a date. Lines around her eyes, ...