~Lyra~

Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. The word was bouncing around in my skull like it was a drumbeat, like someone had taken a hammer and nailed it to the inside of my head. Surprise? No. No, this wasn’t a surprise.

A surprise is someone bringing you cake on your birthday. A surprise is a fucking gift bag. This was a nightmare wearing a party hat, and I was the guest of honor chained to the chair while everyone laughed at me.

I kept replaying her words over and over.

My ...