LILA'S POV
The phone slipped from my hand.
It clattered against the hard, cold floor of the arena hallway, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the cramped space.
My breathing became uneven. Shallow. Frantic.
No.
No.
No.
Not now. Not after all these years of agonizing silence. Not when my life had finally started feeling normal, stable, and safe. Not when I had finally built a wall high enough to keep the ghosts out.
I stared down at the screen blinking up at me from the linoleum.
Call Ended.
Without thinking, driven by pure, unadulterated panic, I snatched it up and pressed the power button, holding it down until the glass went completely black. As if turning off my phone could turn off my past. As if a dark screen could erase the voice that had just fractured my entire reality.
