CELESTE POV

They say the mind breaks before the body does.

Whoever said that never met a Black.

The room smelled of rust and damp concrete.

The room smelled of old iron and rot. Every sound, the hum of the bulb, the drip-drip from a leaking pipe felt louder than my own heartbeat.

I’d been here long enough to forget what daylight looked like.

Long enough to realize fear comes in stages. First panic. Then silence and then something colder.

I wasn’t sure if they wanted me scared or patient. ...