Elena’s Point Of View

The silence in the room was deafening, heavy, suffocating… like the walls themselves were holding their breath, waiting for something to break. My back was pressed against the door, my knuckles raw and bleeding, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. 

The tears had dried on my cheeks, salty and tight, the ache in my chest throbbing like an open wound. I could still feel the weight of Graham’s betrayal, the cold realization that he’d locked me in here like I ...