Vivian’s fingers clenched the edge of the countertop so hard the marble bit into her skin. The phone in her hand shook violently, not from the device, but from her.
Her voice came out in pieces. A whisper torn down the middle.
“Mum… when? When did it happen? Tell me. I need to know everything. I’m begging you… don’t hold back. I wanna know”
The silence on the other end wasn’t quiet. It was the kind of silence that screamed. The kind that made the walls feel too close and the air too thin. Her mother’s breathing trembled through the speaker, shallow, hitched, broken.
Then came the voice.
Low.
Breathless.
Barely stitched together with strength.
“Last night Vivian her mother said. “It was last night, Vivian. Stephanie collapsed. In the bathroom. She was bleeding…”
Vivian’s brows dre
