Chapter 12
Waking the next time wasn’t nearly as pleasant. My arms felt like they were on fire, my wrists especially. The cold floor pressed against my cheek, and something draped over my lower half, weighing me down. Words drifted to my ear as if from far away. I couldn’t make them out, so instead, I focused on my breathing for several minutes. The fact that I could was a good sign.
“Caleb…”
Leandro’s voice. He’s the one I heard talking. I had to focus to try and discern more than the cadences of my name, but my head pounded painfully, like someone was trying to split it open with a crowbar. My arm rose, though not of my own accord, and something scraped across the back of my hand. Fresh pain sliced through me, and I cried out, unable to maintain any sort of stoicism.
“I’m sorry, I’m
