LILY
I didn’t realize I was shaking until the door to my room closed behind me and the silence rushed in all at once.
My legs gave out before my mind caught up, and I sank onto the edge of the bed, then tipped backward until I was flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling like it might explain what had just happened.
Mr. Grant.
He wasn’t a voice anymore. He wasn’t a rule printed into the air or a shadow behind locked doors. He wasn’t the unseen presence everyone adjusted themselves around.
He was real.
And terrifying.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to slow my breathing. My heart was still racing, thudding hard against my ribs like it had been trying to escape him too.
That was the first time he had ever stood in front of me.
The first time I had seen his face.
And it had t
