Catherine's POV
She stood perfectly still, her hands clasped so tightly in front of her that her knuckles were white. The oversized black sunglasses remained fixed on her face. My heart was beating fast against my ribs, fueled by a dread I couldn't quite name.
"Mom, please," I whispered again with a trembling voice that held both fear and a growing desperation. "Mom, really, take them off. It's dark in here, you don't need them."
She hesitated, her lower lip shaking for a fleeting second before she steeled herself. With a slow, unsteady hand, she reached up and hooked her fingers around the frames. I held my breath, the world around me narrowing down to that single movement. As she pulled the glasses away, the breath left my body in a sharp, agonizing hiss.
