The near miss left Sienna shaken in a way the earlier encounters had not.
She stayed in her room the entire next day. She told her mother she felt unwell. She avoided the kitchen, the hallway, and especially the study. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the bathroom door handle turning. She heard her mother’s voice on the other side. One more second and everything would have collapsed.
Guilt sat heavy in her chest. It mixed with the memory of Roman’s hands and the way he had looked at her in the dark, and the mixture made her feel sick and hungry at the same time. She tried to sleep. She tried to read. She tried to convince herself that the fear was enough to make her stop. None of it worked. By late afternoon the walls of her room felt too close, and the silence felt louder than any
