Her long eyelashes trembled once, twice, before they flew open.
The red in her eyes had webbed fully. They didn't look like the eyes of a person who had just woken up. They looked like the eyes of someone who had endured sleepless nights for a year and had come out the other side sharper for it.
No grogginess. No confusion.
She sat up calmly, energetically, though slowly, from the hospital bed. The white sheets fell away from her. She swung her legs over the side and stood barefoot on the cold tile.
Her eyes trailed forward with purpose. The beeping noise from the monitors in the ward didn't register in her mind. Not even a little bit.
She walked straight to the bathroom.
Once inside, she closed the door softly. Then she pressed a hidden button beneath the sink.
The ground beneath her feet sank.
