VALERIE
The walls of my room felt like they were closing in on me, the air too thick, too suffocating to breathe. I paced back and forth, my heart a frantic drumbeat that echoed in my ears. Restlessness gnawed at me, an unease I couldn’t shake no matter how many deep breaths I took, no matter how tightly I wrapped my arms around myself.
Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones, in the way my skin prickled with a sense of impending doom. But what it was, I couldn’t say. All I knew was that I needed to move, to run, to escape the walls that seemed to trap me with every passing second. I didn’t belong here.
A sharp knock on the door made me jump, and I whirled around, my pulse spiking in fear. The door creaked open, and Damien stepped inside, his presence filling the room with an
