I do not know when I fall asleep. One moment I am lying stiff on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the dark to move again. The next, a faint sound brings me back.
A quiet shift. A soft exhale. The floor gives a small creak. Someone is on the other side of the door.
At first my body reacts with pure panic. My heart launches upward and my breath catches. I sit upright, covers gathered in my fists. The room is still dim, the curtains pulled tightly, but there is enough light to paint the door in a thin silver outline.
I listen.
There. A slow step. Then another. A pause. Almost like someone trying not to disturb me.
Damian.
The realization does not bring comfort. It simply shifts my fear into something more complicated, more layered. I ease back down onto the pillow but l
