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POV Avery
The road blurred past too fast.
Or maybe not fast enough.
I couldn't tell anymore.
Every turn made me feel like something was about to appear in front of us. A figure. A shadow. A memory.
I kept my eyes open.
I refused to blink.
Gabriel was driving fast, but not recklessly. Focused. Closed off.
He wasn't speaking anymore.
And that silence scared me almost more than what had happened in the house.
Because he knew.
He knew what had attacked me.
And he knew why.
I could see it in the tension of his jaw.
In the way he kept checking the mirrors.
As if he expected to see something following us.
I pulled my hands close to myself.
My throat was still burning.
Sometimes, I could almost feel the fingers closing around it again.
I swallowed with difficulty.
"Gabriel…"
He turned his head slightly.
"I'm here."
Always the same answer.
Simple.
Firm.
Like a wall.
I wondered how long a wall could hold against something like that.
The forest began to appear along the road.
Familiar.
Reassuring.
But not completely.
Because if that thing had been able to find me at home…
it could find me anywhere.
The lake house finally emerged between the trees.
I should have felt better.
I didn't.
Gabriel parked abruptly, got out, walked around the car, and opened my door before I even had time to move.
He held out his hand.
I looked at it for a second.
Then I took it.
My legs trembled the moment I touched the ground.
He immediately wrapped an arm around me.
Not intrusive.
But ready to catch me.
The front door burst open.
Mom.
Her face—
pure fear.
"Avery!"
She rushed to me and pulled me into a tight embrace, knocking the air out of my lungs again.
But this time it didn't hurt.
It was real.
Alive.
I had thought she would scold me the moment she saw me, but it was relief, not anger.
I clung to her without hesitation.
That's when I realized I was still shaking.
Daniel was behind her.
Will too.
Their eyes moved from me to Gabriel.
They were looking for an explanation.
A confirmation.
Something.
Gabriel said nothing.
I could still feel his arm ready to catch me if I faltered.
Mom cupped my face in her hands and noticed the bruises on my neck.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, her gaze flicking between me and Gabriel.
I tried to answer.
But my voice got stuck.
Because I didn't know how to explain invisible fingers.
How to explain a will that wanted me dead.
"What happened?" Will asked.
We both stayed silent.
And over my mother's shoulder, I met Gabriel's gaze.
Still alert.
Still elsewhere.
As if he knew that coming back didn't mean safety.
Just a pause.
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Mom was still holding my face in her hands.
Her thumbs brushed my cheeks, as if checking that I was really there. That I wouldn't slip away again.
"Avery… talk to me, sweetheart."
I wanted to.
I wanted to tell her I was okay.
That I was fine.
But the moment I opened my mouth, the ground seemed to shift beneath my feet.
The world tilted.
The air became too heavy.
Too scarce.
A ringing filled my ears.
My knees gave out.
If Gabriel's arms hadn't been there, I would have collapsed.
I heard him say my name, but his voice sounded far away, like through a thick wall.
"Hey. Stay with me."
Stay with me.
I clung to his jacket.
Again.
Always.
As if letting go meant falling back there.
Into that pressure.
Into those invisible eyes.
My vision blurred.
I felt Mom move closer immediately.
"What's wrong with her?!"
Panic had replaced relief.
I was breathing too fast.
Or not enough.
I didn't know anymore.
Gabriel held me firmly, but his gaze—
It wasn't on me.
He was scanning the surroundings.
The trees.
The windows.
The shadows between the branches.
As if he were waiting for something to appear.
And that's when Mom understood.
I saw it in the way she froze.
In the way her hand tightened around my arm.
She followed his gaze.
Then looked back at him.
Slowly.
"He's found us for good this time…" she whispered.
It wasn't a question.
Gabriel didn't answer.
But he didn't need to.
The silence was confirmation.
Mom's face went pale.
She gave a small nod, as if an old, buried fear had just resurfaced.
"Alright," she murmured.
Alright.
As if she had just accepted a truth she had hoped never to face again.
She straightened.
Taller.
Stronger.
"We're going inside. Now."
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