Chapter 2: Can’t Go Back
Lilia struggled to catch her breath, gasping for air as her chest heaved. The cool night air seemed to weigh heavily on her, thick and oppressive, pressing down on her like a suffocating blanket. Her skin prickled, and her pulse pounded in her ears, a constant reminder of the fear crawling up her spine.
Her voice came out in a shaky whisper, barely audible against the eerie silence of the night.
"I felt someone....," she said, her words trembling. "I felt someone watching me."
Her mother's eyes narrowed with a cold, calculating intensity, a sharp glint flashing across her face like the flash of a dagger. The temperature in the air seemed to drop, the moment heavy with unspoken judgment.
"You felt who?" she demanded, her voice low but laced with venom. "What on earth are you doing here in the middle of the night dressed like this? Are you telling me you felt someone? What kind of sane person feels something like that and decides to go investigate?"
Lilia stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. Her mind raced, but the words caught in her throat. She felt foolish now—like the characters in those ridiculous horror movies she used to watch, the ones who wandered off into the dark for no good reason, only to regret it later.
Her mother's grip on reality seemed tighter than ever, and the fear in Lilia's chest twisted into something darker. How could she explain what she felt? How could she make her mother understand?
Her mother fingers dug into Lilia's skin, her hold firm and full of disdain. The pressure sent a jolt of pain through her body.
"Wait till your father hears about this," her mother hissed, her tone ice-cold, dripping with anger.