Blade’s P.O.V.
*** 13 years ago***
I kicked at the dirt at my feet, watching as a few loose pebbles scattered across the ground. I didn’t want to go home—not yet. The house felt too quiet right now. Like it was holding its breath, waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen anymore. All around me, everything seemed hollow, like I was walking in a world made of paper. And everyone was crying, all the damn time.
I wandered over to the park further down the street, the one just a few blocks from my house. I had been here so many times as a little kid, playing with Skye, my sisters, and other neighborhood kids. The swings creaked in the wind, and I suddenly felt like they were teasing me, reminding me of how I used to laugh and race around this place without a care in the world. Now,
