Cold Awakening

POV: DAPHNE

Consciousness returns in slow, agonizing fragments. A punishing, dull throb beats against my lower back with the steady rhythm of my own pulse. The unrelenting stone of the front porch left its brutal signature on my spine. I drag my heavy eyelids open. My vision swims in a blurry haze, catching the soft glow of morning sunlight filtering through thick curtains instead of the blinding