RAVEN’S POV
The air in the airport in Italy feels different, and to be honest, it tastes like the purest oxygen I’ve ever inhaled. It’s the first time I’ve walked through an airport alone in two years. The last time I tried this, I was clutching a tattered backpack and a ticket bought with some money I had saved from my allowance from my parents. I was running from my stepfather, the man who turned my life into a f*****g nightmare.
He had caught me at the gate before I could board. The memory flashes through my mind, making me shudder. I remember his grip on my upper arm and how he dragged me back like an animal. It still feels all too familiar.
The weeks of darkness that followed in that basement were horrifying. He didn’t stop at that; he made sure he emptied my entire savings. He spe
