As soon as the door to her hospital room closed behind her family, Maya opened her eyes. Her mind was racing, a storm of emotions swirling inside her. The sterile scent of the hospital room, the beeping of the monitors, the constriction of the IV in her arm, it all felt suffocating. She glanced down at the needle and, with a quick yank, pulled it out, wincing as the sting rippled through her skin.
Her hand instinctively clamped over the tiny wound as her mind whirled. How could they treat me like that? The feeling of being trapped was overwhelming, her anger brewing just beneath the surface. They had judged her without even trying to understand her. All except her mother.
Suddenly, she heard raised voices outside the door. Curious, Maya slid out of bed, quietly stepping across the coo
