A nosebleed that wouldn’t stop. Bruises she couldn’t explain. Fatigue that sank deeper each day. Evan noticed her slowing down, her paler skin — but brushed it off too, until the night she collapsed on the kitchen floor.
When she woke, the world smelled like antiseptic. The light overhead was harsh and cold. Evan sat beside her hospital bed, his fingers tangled with hers, his face drawn tight. “You scared me,” he whispered, trying to smile but failing.