The room was too quiet.
Moonlight poured through the blinds in thin lines across Alexa's sleeping face. Everything looked peaceful — still — but inside her, a storm raged.
Her breath hitched.
A twitch.Then her whole body jerked as if pulled beneath black water.
She was there again.
Tied.
Gagged.
Arms and legs bound, muscles screaming against restraints. Her voice wouldn't come. Not a whisper, not a scream. The darkness wasn't just in the room. It was on her.
He was coming.
She couldn't see his face. Only his weight in the silence. Heavy. Cruel. Intentional.
Creak.
Floorboards.
Closer.
Her heart slammed in her chest.
Then—fingertips.Brushing her cheek.Gentle. Mocking.
Then sliding lower—Neck.Collarbone.
She gasped—A breathless, strangled noise as her eyes snapped open.
Alexa sat upright, sweat clinging to her skin like another layer of clothing. Her chest heaved, her hands dug into the sheets. For a long second, she didn't even know where she was.
That touch still lingered.Like the nightmare had followed her out.
"Again… that same dream,"she whispered, voice raw.
She fumbled for the water glass. Spilled it. Drank anyway. The cold didn't help.
Phone.Time?
Too early.Too late to sleep again.
She walked silently to the bathroom.Only the faucet's hiss reminded her she was still here. Still her.
Somewhere else...
Sara's eyes opened slowly.11:00 a.m.
She'd already taken another week off from university.
Tear stains lined her cheeks.Her phone still lay in her hand.Dried blood marked her face — she didn't even remember how it got there.
And the knife...Right in front of her.
The room was dimly lit. She blinked hard, then stared at the blade again. Picked it up.
Her hands were slow, exhausted. Like they'd been moving for years.
She flipped the knife over in her fingers.Not thinking. Just remembering.
She leaned her head back on the sofa. Closed her eyes.
And saw it again.
That night.
The same kind of night. Quiet. Cold.
She had invited Maera to her place to study.Time passed. It got late.Maera stayed over.
She remembered the way Maera had held her that night.The way she looked at her — like Sara was something fragile.Like she was worth saving.
Back then, Sara had been ready to do it — to press the blade to her vein and disappear quietly.
But Maera had stopped her.
Maera had held her hand — had looked into her eyes and dragged her back from death without a word.
Sara's eyes flew open.
She couldn't go further.Couldn't think more.Every time she let herself remember Maera, her heart cracked open like old wounds.
She stared at the phone in her hand —Sim's phone.
The screen was still lit.Maera's picture glowed softly from the lock screen, smiling like a memory that refused to fade.
Sara's fingers trembled.
Her voice, broken and hollow, barely escaped her throat.
"Am I really living without you…or just... passing time?"
A bitter smile pulled at her lips — full of pain, but undeniably real.
She traced Maera's face on the screen with her thumb, voice trembling again.
"You saved my life once...And look... yesterday, I saved yours too."
She smiled — that kind of smile that hurts more than it heals —then gently placed the phone aside and walked off to freshen up.
To be continued....