Beep… beep… beep… beep…
The emergency room is packed.
The sound of monitors blends with hurried footsteps, tense voices, and orders being barked back and forth without rest.
Doctors. Nurses.
People racing against time. Against death.
And in the middle of it all… there's me.
Room 104.
Motionless.
Hooked up to wires, tubes, and machines that do for me what my body no longer can.
Breathing… hurts.
Even that.
The accident was critical.
I got lucky.
The driver managed to brake at the last second.
If he hadn't… that night would have been the last of my life.
"How is she, doctor?" Kaly asks, her voice breaking.
Her eyes are filled with tears.
She doesn't like seeing me like this.
She's never liked seeing me broken.
"The accident was severe," the doctor responds in a serious tone. "But she arrived in time. We managed to stabilize her."
He pauses.
Too long.
"Now… we must wait to see how she evolves through the night before giving a diagnosis."
Kaly nods in silence.
"I understand…"
The doctor checks some papers.
"Do you know where her parents are? I understand the patient is a minor."
Kaly hesitates.
"They should be here… I… I'm going to call them right now—"
"Good evening."
The masculine voice interrupts the moment.
Calm. Steady. Too steady.
"I'm looking for Elizabeth Anderson. Seventeen. Traffic accident."
The nurse looks up.
"Your name and relationship to the patient?"
There is a second of silence.
Just one.
But it feels eternal.
"Noah Lee," he responds without hesitation. "Her fiancé."
The air freezes.
"W-what…?" Kaly blinks, confused.
She doesn't understand.
She can't understand.
Neither would I.
She and I tell each other everything. Always.
And yet… I never mentioned any Noah.
I never mentioned anyone.
So… who is he?
Kaly observes him closely.
And it's impossible not to.
Tall. Imposing.
A perfectly tailored dark suit.
Black hair. Blue eyes.
And a gaze… cold.
Too cold.
The kind that doesn't ask for permission. The kind that takes what it wants.
Kaly reacts.
Fast. As always.
She takes a step forward without looking away from him.
"Excuse me…" she says firmly. "I think you're mistaken."
Noah doesn't flinch.
He doesn't even blink.
"Are you sure?" he asks, never taking his blue eyes off her.
Kaly swallows hard.
But she doesn't back down.
"She would have told me."
"Really?" He traces a smile. Cold. Calculating. "Do you tell each other everything?"
Kaly doesn't respond.
Because we both know they do.
But something in the way he says it… makes even her doubt it.
"Mr. Lee," the nurse's voice cuts through the silence. "I need to see some documentation proving your relationship to the patient."
Noah looks at her.
Unfazed.
"Of course."
He reaches into the inner pocket of his suit.
He pulls something out.
A folded paper.
"Legal authorization to make medical decisions," he says, handing it over. "Signed by Elizabeth's parents."
The nurse reads it.
Her expression doesn't change.
"This is correct," she admits, returning the document. "Sorry for the trouble."
And she leaves.
Kaly stands there, frozen.
"What…?" she sounds confused, not knowing what to ask. "How is it possible that you have that?"
Noah doesn't answer.
Because at that moment…
footsteps are heard.
"Elizabeth!"
Her mother's voice.
Kaly turns.
Her parents are there, at the end of the hallway.
Well-dressed. Not a wrinkle in sight.
They aren't running.
They walk calmly.
As if this were just another inconvenience.
"What happened?" her mother asks, approaching the door. "Is she alright?"
Her father stays a step behind.
He looks at the bed.
Then he looks at Noah.
And he nods.
A small gesture. Almost imperceptible.
"Mr. Lee," he says, in a tone Kaly has never heard from him. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Noah smiles.
"I always take care of what is mine."
Kaly frowns.
She doesn't understand.
"You guys know him?" she asks, looking at the parents.
The mother ignores her.
She enters the room and sits by the bed.
She runs a hand through the girl's hair.
But she doesn't caress it.
She just pushes it aside.
Because it's in the way of her face.
A dry gesture. Lacking affection.
"Mr. Lee?" Kaly insists, more confused than anything. "Why do you have my friend's papers?"
Noah is about to respond.
He turns his head toward her.
His blue eyes look at her with a calmness that is scarier than a scream.
He opens his mouth.
But the father interjects.
"That is none of your business," he says, curtly.
Kaly is perplexed. Shocked.
She opens her mouth to say something… but she doesn't know what.
She doesn't know what to ask.
She doesn't know what to do.
She just stays silent.
And in that silence…
Beeeeeeeeeeeeep——
A long whistle. High-pitched. Incessant.
Kaly turns toward the room.
The monitor screen shows a flat line.
No beat.
Her heart isn't beating.
"Family out!" a nurse screams as she runs toward the bed.
The doctor appears behind her.
Two more nurses enter.
"Blood pressure dropping!" "Prepare the defibrillator!" "Everyone step back! Out of the room!"
Everything happens too fast.
Kaly feels someone grab her arm and pull her out.
She doesn't know who. She doesn't care.
Her eyes don't leave the bed. That lifeless body. That pale face.
"Charging!" "Clear!"
ZAP.
The body lifts for a second. It falls.
The line remains flat.
"Again!" "Increase the charge!"
ZAP.
Harder. It arches. It falls.
Silence.
The line remains flat.
"Again!" the doctor shouts.
"No response," a nurse says, her voice tense.
ZAP.
Nothing.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeep——
The long whistle returns.
The flat line doesn't change.
"Another one!"
ZAP.
"We're losing her!" the nurse announces, this time with a thread of a voice.
Kaly feels the world collapsing.
"One more!" the doctor orders, his eyes fixed on the monitor.
ZAP.
And then…
Beep…
A beep. Weak.
Beep… beep…
Stronger.
Beep… beep… beep…
Steady.
"We have a pulse!" the nurse screams.
"Sinus rhythm restored," the doctor confirms, exhaling.
Kaly lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
And then…
she opens her eyes.
She blinks. Once. Slowly.
Without focus. Without knowing where she is. Without knowing what happened.
She just… opens her eyes.