~Elsie's POV
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that everything felt… different. The air was cooler, softer somehow, and the sharp smell of soap and metal from the bathroom was gone. In its place was something faint and clean, like fresh sheets and quiet.
For a moment, I did not move. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to understand where I was and why my body felt so heavy, like it did not belong to me.
Then I felt a hand holding mine. My breath caught instantly. My head turned slowly, almost unwillingly, and when my eyes landed on him, my heart stuttered in my chest.
Salvatore.
He was sitting beside the bed, his posture relaxed, but his presence still overwhelming in a way I could not explain. His hand was wrapped around mine, steady, warm, as if it had always been there.
For a second, I just stared.
Then something sharp and panicked rushed through me.
