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CATALINA'S POV
The first thing I felt was pain.
Not just dull or throbbing—this one sliced, deep and sharp, a reminder etched beneath my skin. It yanked me halfway out of sleep. My eyelids fluttered open, slow like molasses, and the sterile white of the hospital ceiling bled into view. I blinked once. Twice. The bright light hurt. My mouth was dry, and something ached behind my eyes.
Then I remembered.
Rafe.
My whole body tensed at the thought of him, and pain shot through my back like a blade twisting. I bit down on a gasp, my hand instinctively pressing against the bandaged wound. The gauze crinkled faintly beneath my fingers. Something warm and terrifying built in my chest as I turned my head, frantic, searching the room with dry, stinging eyes.
He wasn't here.
There was an empty bed beside mine. Just white sheets. No machines beeping beside him, no slow rise and fall of his chest to calm the storm inside mine. Nothing.
My breath shortened. I felt it spiraling, that tight grip of panic coiling around my ribs.
No. No. No.
What if he didn't make it?
What if I survived, but he didn't?
I sat upright too quickly—fire lanced up my back and blinded me. "Fuck," I whispered, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip to stop the scream that wanted to tear out of me. My heart was going too fast, my lungs couldn't keep up. "No. Please, no."
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, shaky, barefoot, pulling the IV stand with me like a chained ghost. I didn't care. I'd rip it out if I had to. I needed to find him. I couldn't breathe without knowing.
Just as I planted my feet on the floor, the door creaked open.
"Catalina!" Adriana's voice—sharp, panicked—cut through the quiet. She hurried into the room with a cup of coffee in her hand, which she dropped onto the table before rushing to me.
"What the hell are you doing?" she said, reaching out to steady me, one arm sliding around my shoulders. "Easy, baby. Easy."
"I—I have to find him," I croaked out. "Rafe. I need to see him—where is he? Where—"
"Catalina, stop." Her hands pressed against my shoulders gently, urging me back down. "Please. Just lie back down. You just came out of surgery yourself."
"I don't care about me." My voice was cracked, raw. "Tell me where he is. Tell me he's okay, Adri."
She sighed and cupped my cheek. Her eyes were soft, but tired, rimmed red like she hadn't slept either.
