Chapter 221: Nightmares
Easter~
I don’t remember falling asleep. One moment, I was curled up in Jacob’s arms, wrapped in the warmth of his chest, his scent anchoring me to something that felt like safety. The next, I was sinking—slowly at first, like drifting into a pool of sleep.
Then the screaming started.
Blood.
Everywhere.
My bare feet slipped on the cold, wet floor. I looked down. The red was pooling, thick and dark, like it had been there for hours, maybe days. Bodies lay strewn across the room—people I didn’t recognize, faces contorted in fear or pain, limbs at impossible angles. And in the middle of the horror, I stood, frozen, shaking.
"Mommy! Mommy, please!"
My baby’s voice cut through the air like a knife. I whipped around.
"Rose!" I cried, heart in my throat.
She was there, curled in the corner, her little fists rubbing at her tear-streaked cheeks, her tiny body trembling. She was still in her favorite pink onesie with the yellow ducks. Her curls were sticking to her forehead, and her big eyes looked up at me, pleading.
But I couldn’t move.