Page 105 of Born in Sin

“AMAY!” Virat’s panicked roar rent the air, adding to the clamour and chaos in the room.

Celi’s frightened eyes met Virat’s and then she stumbled, her chest heaving. Virat reached for her, dropping his gun and taking the weight of her body in his arms.

Celi looked at him, her breathing laboured and heavy.

“I-I-I can’t breathe.” The words were a struggle, her panicked gaze focused on his face with absolute trust. “Vir, I –“

She went boneless in his arms, her eyes rolling back and her head going limp.

And Virat’s world went quiet.

Crestwood

Celina couldn’t move. Her mind and body seemed to have completely disassociated, leaving her floating in eternal limbo. Someone draped a towel over her as they carried her into the school building. The world went fuzzy and then dark.

Someone was sobbing, loudly…very loudly. Celina flinched, trying to move away from the sound. The ground beneath her was rocking, shaking from side to side, like a ride in the amusement park her father used to take her on. She wanted to get off. She was so sick. Why did her hands hurt? Why did everything hurt?

Lights. So many lights. Celina blinked, everything was so fuzzy. She tried to wipe her eyes with her hand so she could see clearer. But her hands wouldn’t move. So heavy. Everything was so heavy.

The sobbing was happening again. Who was it? It was okay, she wanted to say. Whatever it is, it will be okay.

She felt a needle prick her arm and her eyes got heavier. Her body, on the other hand, felt weightless.

“Shock,” someone murmured. Who was it? She couldn’t see.

Yes, shock! She wanted to nod along. This crying person was in shock about what happened. But what happened? Celina felt her mind fracture, her thoughts splintering into a million pieces.

Shock, she thought dimly. So much shock. And then the world went blissfully dark.

Chapter Thirty-Four

CARA

The ambulance siren blared, a depressing soundtrack to Cara’s muddled thoughts. Her chest felt like there was a rock placed on it. She struggled to pull in another breath, the weight pressing down harder.

“Vir.” His name was an inaudible plea. But he heard her. He always heard her.

“I’m here, baby.” His hand pressed into hers, gripping tight. “You’re going to be fine. You have to be fine.”

Everything hurt. Everything felt darker, heavier. Like her chest was folding in on itself under the pressure. Like there was no air in the cramped space

She blinked. Once. Twice. The world was smeared in red light and panic. Sirens wailed, muffled and far away, like she was underwater. Voices shouted around her, urgent and sharp, but her mind latched only onto his—Virat.

She tried to turn her head. It wouldn’t move. Her body felt like lead, icy lead.

“She’s hypotensive, BP’s dropping fast,” a strange voice said.

“Get a line in, 18 gauge, left arm.”

Amay! He was here…

Ams, she tried to say, but his name wouldn’t form on her lips. She felt the sting of a needle, a rush of cold as fluids were pushed into her vein.

“Celi, stay with me.” Virat sounded like he was losing his mind.

She wanted to answer, wanted to say something—I’m okay,It’s over,We did it—but she couldn’t. Every breath felt like inhaling fire. She could feel blood pooling beneath her, wet and warm and wrong.

“She’s got a tension pneumo!” Amay’s calm voice broke through her shock.