Another nurse slowly pushed her chair back from the triage desk.
Parents in the waiting room leaned forward instinctively, drawn by the sudden silence that spread through the room like a ripple across water.
The biker walked forward with heavy steps that echoed across the tile floor. His breathing sounded rough, not from anger but from exhaustion, as if he had been racing against something he couldn’t outrun.
“Please,” he said.
His voice was hoarse, almost breaking.