Azalea
I drifted in and out of consciousness, floating in a sea of black nothing. Sometimes voices reached me through the darkness, muffled and distant.
Sometimes I felt hands moving me, lifting me, but I couldn’t respond. My body felt disconnected from my mind.
When thoughts managed to form, they came in broken fragments. Cassian’s warm smile when he first asked me out for coffee. Chiara’s face when she showed me their photo.
The fake mother’s voice asking for more money. His strong hands forcing the chloroform-soaked cloth over my mouth and nose.
I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or dying. Maybe both. Maybe this was what I deserved for being foolish enough to believe his lies.
*
Cold. Everything was so cold.
I tried to move, but my arms felt like they were made of lead. When I fi
