Lila's teeth dug into the flesh of her wrist hard enough to split skin.
The sound was wet.
Animalistic.
She didn't seem to notice.
Blood rolled down her arm in thin streams while she sat hunched in the alleyway between two towering concrete buildings, her back pressed against the wall, knees pulled slightly inward like her body was trying to make itself smaller.
"Adrian…"
The name came out shredded.
Barely human.
Rainwater dripped from pipes overhead, tapping against dumpsters and puddles. Somewhere beyond the alley, the underground city continued moving like normal. Footsteps. Distant chatter. The faint hum of trains.
But down here, hidden from all of it, Lila looked like something dragged out of a nightmare.
Her bloodshot eyes twitched violently beneath swollen lids.
She bit herself again.
Harder.
A chunk of skin tore loose from her wrist and hung from her mouth before she spat it onto the ground beside her.
"…Adrian…"
Her fingers dug into her scalp.
Pulling.
