One Night with Gregory

*ONE NIGHT WITH GREGORY* I was buried alive for two years. My Aunty Sola ripped me from my parents, locked me in a yellow room, and burned the name Tinsel Monroe until the world believed I was ash. _“GOOD. STAY DEAD,”_ she wrote on my missing poster. I thought she was the monster. I was wrong. She made me a ghost to save me from the men who burned my parents alive. She became the villain so I’d have a heartbeat. Then I ran — straight into Gregory Hale at 3 am in the ruins of Panther Way. He gave me his coat. Left me at sunrise. Four days later I was in his tower, breathing only because his best friend said “make sure she’s safe.” Zack Finnson. Zack who smiles first and asks questions later. Zack who knows the guard rotations better than the guards. Zack who was there the night my parents died, and the night Gregory found me, and every night since. Zack who checks my locks twice. Gregory is cruel to my face and ruined behind my back, building cages to keep monsters out. But the doors all have Zack’s fingerprint. *She burned my name to save my life.* He says my name like it burns his mouth. And the man who swore to protect me… never told me where he was the night the fire started. Is Zack the reason why I'm alive? Or the reason i needed savings?.... Read more to find out.