NOAH
The world did not end with a scream or a crash. It ended with the sound of my brother's voice, flat and clinical, cutting through the sterile air of the hospital corridor like a scalpel.
Nick didn't look at me with pity. He didn't even look at me with kindness. He just stood there, a pillar of cold white fabric and professional detachment.
The blood didn't just leave my face; it felt as though it were being drained out of my very soul.
A terrifying, hollow cold started at the surface of my skin and moved inward, settling into my bones until I was certain I would never be warm again.
My stomach didn't drop... it collapsed. It felt like something heavy had been resting on a shelf inside me for years, and someone had finally kicked the supports out from under it.
I was still standing, but the act of remaining upright required a conscious, agonizing effort.
