Each step toward the door felt like a gamble.
Once in the hallway, she didn’t run—but she moved quickly, head down, senses stretched thin. She could almost feel eyes on her, feel the moment when they would realize she was gone. That she was not taking the school shuttle bus or walk back home.
The parking lot came into view.
Almost there.
Almost safe.
Her lungs burned as she scanned the rows of cars, searching desperately—
And then she saw her mother’s car pulling in.
Iva’s senses were stretched to their absolute limit, every nerve ending screaming, every sound amplified. The world felt too sharp, too loud, as if danger itself had taken form behind her.
Then she felt it.
A sudden disturbance in the air. Heavy footsteps. Aggression spiking like a blade.
Her heart lurched.
She look
