Chapter 21: Familiar Isn't the Same as Safe
Olivia's "Liv" Winters’ POV
It didn't happen all at once.
There was no dramatic collapse.
No earth-shattering realization.
No moment where I consciously decided that Ethan's house had somehow become a destination my body sought out when my mind was too exhausted to fight.
It happened quietly.
Slowly.
In pieces.
A night when the city felt too loud and my apartment felt too empty.
A night when every sound outside my window scraped against my nerves until I couldn't breathe.
The next thing I knew, I was waking beneath dark wood ceilings again.
My shoes sat neatly by the door.
A blanket covered me.
And Ethan was nowhere in sight.
Another time, work had stretched me so thin I felt hollow by the end of the day.
My chest had been tight.
