LAVENDER POV
The room is too large for me. That’s the first thing I notice when I wake up, not fear, not panic, just the quiet awareness that I’ve slept inside a life that was never meant to be mine. The bed is wide and heavy with crisp linen, the kind that smells faintly of detergent and something floral, something expensive and distant.
I lie still, my hand resting on my stomach. You’re safe, I tell myself, not forever, just for now. A knock sounds at the door before I can spiral any further. “Lav?” Aunt Tracy’s voice slips through the wood, familiar and grounding.
Relief floods my chest so quickly it almost hurts. “I’m awake,” I call. She steps in a moment later, already dressed, her expression softer than it’s been in weeks. There’s something steadier in her eyes now, something like
