Eloise was lost in her own thoughts, her mind floating in an endless fog. She didn’t hear Mavis’s sharp voice cutting through the silence, demanding a response.
"Eloise, you scolded me for being rude just now, and now you're pretending you don’t know what’s happening?"
Mavis’s words struck the air like a whip, but Eloise couldn’t focus. She felt detached, as if her mind was too far gone to engage in the reality unfolding around her. But Mavis’s high-pitched voice grew louder, mixing with the frantic panic that bubbled inside Eloise, pulling her back to the moment.
A loud bang echoed through the room, the noise so jarring that it caused Eloise to flinch. Her body collided with the doorknob, and a searing pain shot through her forehead, blurring her vision. She crumpled to the ground, dis
