Scarlett woke up with her head pounding. His words wouldn't leave her alone, echoing over and over:
"I helped unlock something that was already there. The rest? That's all you, dear Scarlett. All you."
She groaned, pressing her palms against her eyes. Everything felt heavy - her body, her thoughts, even the air around her. Yesterday's events kept playing in her mind like a broken record: Claire's bruised neck, the way she'd flinched away, the fear in her eyes...
"It couldn't have been me," Scarlett whispered to her empty room. "It was just a dream. Just a stupid dream."
But even as she said it, she knew she was lying to herself. Those bruises had matched her dream perfectly - every mark, every shadow of pain she'd inflicted in her sleep.
She dragged herself out of bed, feeling like sh
