Eve's POV.
Silence wrapped around me like a heavy, suffocating blanket. Every step I took seemed louder than it should, echoing off the cold walls of the streets like a warning. The night was still, eerily so, and I could hear the soft rustle of leaves falling in the distance, the faint hum of streetlights buzzing somewhere above. Sam was on the couch back at Uncle’s, meticulously inspecting her nails, lost in some quiet pretense of calm, while I felt panic gnawing at my ribs. I couldn’t cry anymore—not here, not now. Uncle had been like this ever since I walked through that front door: harsh, unyielding, impossible to reason with. Ever since my parents died, the house had become a cage, and tonight, I refused to be trapped any longer.
“Sam?” I whispered, my voice cracking ever so sligh
