And a line that stops my breath cold.
I don’t think anyone’s ever really loved me without trying to possess me.
I stare at the words.
Then I laugh. Quiet. Sharp.
“That’s the point, baby.”
I tuck the notebook back exactly where it was. I want her to feel something when she touches it tomorrow. A chill. A flicker of unease. Like maybe her memory isn’t lying. Like maybe someone was in her room.
Because I was.
And I’ll be back.
I take one last look at her—the girl who thinks she’s free. The girl who thinks no one is watching.
“You will never be alone again,” I murmur. “Not unless I say so.”
I slip out the way I came.
Quiet.
Invisible.
But I left the window unlocked this time.
On purpose.
Because the next time I crawl through it…
I won’t be leaving before sunrise.
CHAPTER 6.6
RAVEN
Something’s wrong.
I don’t open my eyes. I don’t move.
But I feel it.
The shift in the air. The heaviness. It’s like the room is holding its breath with me.
There’s no sound.
No creak. No whisper.
But something—someone—was here.
The skin between my shoulder blades prickles like it remembers a touch I didn’t feel. I tighten the blanket around my body, pressing my knees to my chest beneath it.
“He’s watching again.”
The voice is back.
Not his. Not Damien’s.
