It was cold.  The wind howled like a wolf that has marked its prey.  Her ears pounded; a faint ringing mixed with the sound of the wind and the echo of tires speeding away.  Her mind burned; aching with each breath she took.  Her heart stung; as though the fresh wounds on her skin pierced straight to her heart.

“Just stop,” she thought, “just stop.”  It was all she could think.  The overwhelming pain that spread from the outside in – or maybe it was inside out – she could not tell.  All she knew was that it hurt. Everything hurt.  From the sound of the wind to each breath she took – it all hurt.  “Just stop.”  Her body wanted to cry but her eyes were dry, “Just stop.”  The sound of an ambulance blared in her ears, “Just -”

Tori’s eyes burst open.  Beads of cold sweat covered her forehead.  She reached for her head, remembering the bandage from when she first woke up.  Her eyes darted from one white spot on the ceiling to another as her hand slowly made its way back to her side.  “what…was that?”

She turned to her side and looked up at the bright white crescent moon.  She hasn’t had a dream since she woke from the accident, could it be that having a single quiet afternoon to herself allowed her body to relax and even dream?

No, that wasn’t really a dream. It was more like a nightmare. Tori turned to her other side, wrapping the quilt tighter around herself as a chill ran down her spine. She shook her head and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would find her again.

“But what was so urgent that Ana could not come to the hospital today?” the thought ran across Tori’s mind. 

She sat up and sighed. “Shut up brain.” She ruffled her hair, “It doesn’t matter that something came up. Why do you care why she didn’t come today?” Her hand dragged across her face, erasing the last traces of sleep, “It’s just because you’re in the habit of having her around, that’s all. Her life does not revolve around coming to the hospital.”

Tori stared blankly at the wall across the room. “It was really quiet in here today….” She glanced at the charging phone on the bedside table and bit her bottom lip. “It’s late….” She reasoned with herself despite her body reaching toward the device.

Jinyoung was online.

“Did you just wake up?” His message arrived as if he knew she just picked up the phone. “Strangely, I was just lying in bed and could not fall asleep. Are you having trouble sleeping too?”

Tori stared at the screen and felt the tension in her shoulders release. 

“We’re coming back tomorrow.
The boys want to visit you first thing.
Unfortunately, I have a gig in the afternoon – but we should all be able to have dinner together. That’d be nice.
The boys miss you and Ana a lot. We all can’t wait to go back to Seoul. 
We saw a lot of things and had many great experiences and I know the guys are excited to share them with you and Ana…
This feels kind of weird to text you without a response…
Though it’s too late to have a video chat.
I’m actually feeling sleepy now that I got to talk to you... well, kind of talk...
See you tomorrow Tori ~ I hope you get some rest as well.”

Tori’s eyes began feeling heavy again – sleep has returned.