Elizabeth’s POV
The night was colder than I expected. The air bit at my skin even through the hoodie, damp with the scent of rain-soaked earth. My sneakers crunched against the gravel as I made my way to the same lonely streetlight, the same cursed spot where I’d once stood trembling, waiting for a ghost.
This time, I wasn’t just trembling. I was unraveling.
Ethan’s threat echoed in my mind. Friday. Midnight. Or else.
And Sebastian’s voice overlapped it, softer, steadier: You don’t have to go through this alone.
I almost called him. I was almost broken. I had typed his number into my phone, thumb hovering over the call button. I had stared at his name, thinking of the way he shielded me, the fire in his eyes when he told May to stop. If I heard his voice, maybe I wouldn’t feel so holl
