The bed beside me is cold. My hand shoots out, searching, finding nothing but empty space where Logan should be. The monitors shriek as my heart rate spikes, their electronic wails piercing through my skull.
Shit.
Shit, fuck, damn.
Not again.
I cannot lose control. The price is too high.
I squeeze my eyes shut and clamp my hands over my ears, curling into myself until my knees press against my chest.
"James Cooper," I whisper, my voice trembling. I probably sound like some sort of horror movie voice-over, and my vocal cords feel as though they're tearing apart, but I manage to say it.
The first name. The heaviest one.
The machines continue their frantic beeping.
"Dr. Maria Santos." Second name. My throat constricts, and I cough against the pain.
"Nurse Practitioner Robert Chen." Third. The sound barely escapes my lips, but even the air moving over my throat forces another spasm of hacking my lungs up.