Grant stood frozen, his gaze locked on Julia’s pale form. The fear of losing her, a constant weight on his heart, was now a tangible force, squeezing the air from his lungs. The room shrank, the walls closing in on him, compressing the space with palpable dread.
Julia’s body stiffened, her arms jerking violently.
“What’s happening?” Grant asked.
The medical team hurried to react. “She’s seizing,” Kyle said. “Push four milligrams lorazepam now.”
A nurse rushed to comply, swiftly preparing the syringe and injecting it into her IV.
As the seizure continued to shake Julia’s body, a visceral fear gripped Grant. The world narrowed to the sight of her struggling form, each jerk of her limbs a stark reminder of how fragile life was.
Hold on, Julia.
He focused on the silent show of strength. But as the medical team scrambled, a chilling question haunted him: was he about to lose the love of his life?
CHAPTER 12
JULIA
The soft beeping of a heart monitor broke the silence. A twinge of antiseptic tickled her nostrils as she shifted in her bed. Soreness coursed through every muscle in her body.
She winced at the tenderness in her muscles coupled with a severe, throbbing headache. Nausea still rolled her stomach and fatigue made her want to slip away from the world again.
She groaned, wondering why she wasn’t any better.
As consciousness slowly returned, Julia found herself tangled in a web of confusion, her limbs heavy as if weighted down by lead.
“Julia?” Grant’s voice broke through the haze, sounding distant and fraught with worry.
She didn’t want to open her eyes, but she forced herself. She immediately snapped them shut, sensitive to the bright lights in the room. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. Panic welled inside her.
What was happening? Why was she in the hospital?
“Juju? Open your eyes.”
Alicia?
She groaned again as the sound of heels pounded toward her, making her head hurt even worse.
“Julia?” Kyle’s voice called. “Can you hear me?”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured, keeping her eyes squeezed shut.
“Okay, good. Can you open your eyes?”
She forced them open to slits, squinting against the bright lights.
“You sensitive to the light?”
She bobbed her head up and down before he flicked his gaze to the monitors. “Sierra, can you turn off that light?
The tension holding her eyes taut eased. “Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?” Kyle asked.
She grimaced with every move of her muscles, a testament to the soreness and weakness that gripped her body post-seizure.
“Awful,” she groaned, her voice quivering with a mix of fear and confusion. “What’s happening to me?” The uncertainty of her condition sent a wave of panic through her, making her heart race even faster.