LA
d lands on his hand, where it's brac
st his skin like
a terrifying fire, flicker. The muscles in his jaw twitch. A deep, unfamiliar
ody against mine less
stance between us. He turns his back to me, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair, messing it
from his throat. He doesn't look at me. He ju
ed to be t
as I stumble towards the door. My hand fumbles with the lo
oor open and flee,
. I burst inside, my breath coming in ragged sobs. I lock myself in a stal
y are silent, wracking things that shake my entire body
raw, festering wound in my soul. Trash. The word echoes in my head, over and
g me hollowed out and empty. I push myself up, my limbs heav
My eyes are red and s
hing Landon walk away. The same hollow ache in my chest. The same taste of rejection. But this
ear tracks and the last of my weakness. I look back at the mirror. The br
teady. I rebuild my mask, piece by piece. When I walk out of th
sn't call me into his office. I don't see him. But I feel his
and purse and walk out of the building. I
to my system. The sky is a bruised purple, the
zzes in my
ng. I expect it to be him, an
he screen is one
or Si
n's m
earest sewer. But then, I remember. My parents. Their car, found at the bottom of a ravine o
r beli
e red icon, then moves
dripping with fake affection, fills my ear. "I was
y no
es, undeterred by my silence. "Just family. I would be so
portunity. A chance to get back inside that house, to look for...
-a small precaution that now feels like foresight. If Eleanor thinks she's luring a broken girl into her parlor," I say, my voi
! We'll see you at
ear. A wave of dizziness washes over me. Then, a sharp, twisting pain
double over, clutching my stomach, a
is isn't just stress. Someth
put th
screet gynecological clinic near me" into the search bar. T
The city lights blur into streaks of color as the car speeds into the night. I'm heading t
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