He slams it into the back of my head.
My vision splits in two.
A scream rises but never leaves my lips. The warmth on my scalp spills fast—thick and terrifying.
I feel myself slipping—my limbs useless, my chest tight.
Everything falls. Fades.
Except for the ringing phone.
Somewhere—close—my phone has come back to life. Its screen glows, fragile and flickering like a beacon in the dark.
“Dorian,” I whisper.
My lips barely move. My voice is nothing more than a breath.
Andy doesn’t notice at first. He’s still moving, grunting, finishing with a savage, broken sound. My body convulses beneath him, but I don’t feel it anymore.
“Oh, look at that,” he laughs, mad and breathless. “Right on time. Glad you could assist, boss.”
He picks up the same rock, tinted red and smashes the phone.
Glass shatters. The screen dies.
I go with it.
Into silence. Into darkness.
But as I slip away—the last thought that holds me is Dorian.
Maybe when I wake up… he’ll be there.
* * *
I wake with a scream caught halfway in my throat, choking on it. My body jerks upright—sweat-soaked, heart slamming against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. My fists are clenched so tightly in the sheets, they burn against my palms.
I can’t breathe. I can’t—
The dark is too close. The pain is still here.
“Della. Love.”
A warm, low voice. Steady and real.
“I’m here. You’re safe.”
My eyes fly open and I see Dorian.
He’s in his knees beside the bed, hands out—but not touching. His face is pale, stricken. His eyes wide, raw with worry. And for a second, I can’t move. I don’t trust what I see. What I hear. What I feel.
But then he speaks again, softer now, as if the wrong note might shatter me completely.
“It’s me. Just me. You’re safe now.”
He moves slowly, deliberately, standing to sit on the edge of the bed. He doesn’t pull me in, doesn’t reach too far. Just lets his hand hover near mine before gently grazing his fingers along the back of it.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs. “You’re safe.”
