Page 118 of Danger

winnie

The hallway explodes.

Boots. Voices. The door slams open so hard it hits the wall.

“Winnie—”

It’s him. I don’t see him yet, just feel the room change when he comes in. Big and fast like a storm pushing through.

Then everything happens at once.

Hands on my face. A light in my eyes.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Do you know where you are?”

“Can you squeeze my fingers?”

I feel like the room is spinning.

“I don’t know. I just need a moment,” I whisper, but I don’t know if anyone hears me.

“Her pupils are reactive.”

“Back up,” Danger growls.

Someone says, “Sir?—”

“I said back up!” He does that tone that changes the room.

The doctor steps closer anyway. “But we need to evaluate?—”

“She just woke up,” Danger snaps. “It’s been two weeks. Give her a damn minute.”

Two weeks.

Two weeks?

My stomach turns.

“Daddy,” Fisher says somewhere near the bed. “She heard me.”

“Fish,” he says without looking away from me. “Go get Nana and her parents. They’re in the cafeteria. Tell them she’s awake.”

“But—”

“Go.”

Fisher runs.

The doctor hesitates. “We need to finish our checks.”

Danger doesn’t break eye contact with me. “Just give us a minute.”

It isn’t loud. It isn’t angry. It’s final.

There’s a pause. Then the room empties. And suddenly it’s just us. The sharp lights. The confusion.