**BELLA**
I wake to a searing pain in my head and beeping sounds coming from somewhere in the room, sharp and rhythmic, like the noise is anchored directly to my skull, and I suck in a shallow breath as my eyes flutter open.
I don’t know where I am, and I don’t remember what happened, which is somehow worse than the pain itself, because my thoughts feel smeared and incomplete, like someone ripped pages out of my memory and never put them back. I lift my hand slowly, my arm feeling heavier than it should, and when my fingers brush against the thick bandage wrapped around my head, pain blooms instantly, bright and punishing, forcing a small sound out of me before I can stop it.
“Wow. Hold on. Be careful.” A man’s voice says from beside me, close and alert, like he’s been waiting for that
