Chapter 16

SLOANE

My eyes felt like they weighed five thousand pounds as they cracked open. My body was screaming in pain at the small movement and a dull throbbing sensation was quickly gathering behind my eyes. My mouth felt parched, and my tongue a stone in its desert as I weakly moved my lips. My ears curled in on themselves as the beeping of machines assaulted them, and a shrill alarm went off. I tried to suck in a breath only to find I couldn’t and instead began to choke with such force that it bolted me upright; my body on fire with the sheer pain of the motion. Clawing at my throat and sputtering, I briefly saw Cade, running out of the room. A few moments later several nurses raced in.

“Ok honey, we are going to get this tube out” one said, her voice calm and eyes kind. “I need you to breathe through your nose ok, good, that's it.” I stared at her wide eye