Jasmine's POV
Dawn crept through the curtains, but sleep had abandoned me hours ago. I lay motionless, watching shadows dance across the ceiling while my mind churned with endless worry.
Lina breathed peacefully beside me, lost in dreams I envied. How I wished I could find that same tranquility, that blissful ignorance of what awaited me today.
Ever since Jayden walked out that door, restlessness had consumed me. My chest felt hollow, carved out by his absence and the crushing weight of returning to school.
Every fiber of my being screamed to stay hidden beneath these covers, to disappear from the world that had witnessed my transformation. But hiding would solve nothing. Eventually, I would have to face the stares, the whispers, the fear in their eyes.
They had seen me shift that night.
They had watched me take a life.
Some things could never be forgotten or forgiven.
Rolling onto my side, I closed my eyes and whispered into the darkness.
