Tessa.
My eyes fluttered open slowly, hesitating, as though my body was uncertain whether waking up was a good idea. It felt safer to stay suspended in that hazy nothingness, where pain was distant and thoughts didn't press so hard. But consciousness crept in anyway, stubborn and unavoidable.
The ceiling above me came into view.
White. Too white.
The brightness stabbed at my eyes, sharp and unforgiving, and the moment I tried to focus, a dull ache bloomed behind my temples. I blinked once, then again, my lashes feeling heavy, like they were weighed down by exhaustion. The light pulsed faintly, each throb echoing the slow, pounding rhythm inside my head.
Where am I?
The question surfaced sluggishly, floating through the fog in my mind. Nothing around me felt familiar. The air smelled sterile, clean in a way that made my nose sting slightly. Machines hummed softly somewhere nearby, their sounds steady and unsettling at the same time.
I tried to move.
My body didn't cooperate.
