登入Gianna.I woke up slowly. Like my body was surfacing through layers of warmth and exhaustion at the same time.For a second, I didn’t even open my eyes.I just stayed there quietly, half asleep beneath the blankets while the soft morning light pressed gently against my skin through the curtains.Warm.Safe.My breathing slowed slightly as I felt the steady weight behind me.Ivan.His arm rested securely around my waist, pulling me lightly against his chest while his breathing brushed softly against the back of my neck.God.My chest tightened immediately.Because despite everything happening lately… Despite the curse. The fear. The spiraling. This still felt real.Him.Us.Carefully, I shifted slightly in his arms just enough to turn toward him.Ivan barely moved.Still asleep.His dark hair fell messily across his forehead, his face softer now without the usual sharpness he carried while awake.And then my eyes dropped lower.Toward his neck.Toward the mark.My mark.The sight of it
Ivan.I adjusted my jacket around her shoulders carefully as we walked toward the car. The fabric practically swallowed her whole, but she still pulled it tighter around herself anyway.She was quiet.Not the comfortable kind either.The exhausted kind.The kind where someone looked fine on the outside but you could practically hear the weight of their thoughts pressing down on them.I hated it.I hated that today happened at all.The image kept replaying in my head no matter how hard I tried to push it away.Her claws.Her eyes.The fear on her face after she realized what she’d almost done.God.That part wrecked me the most.Not the snarling. Not aggression. Not even the way she threatened me.It was the fact that she looked terrified of herself afterward.Like she genuinely believed she was becoming some kind of monster.My jaw tightened as I opened the passenger door for her.She slid inside quietly, her fingers brushing lightly against mine for half a second before pulling away
Ivan.Something was wrong.I knew it before Gianna even looked at me.She sat frozen beside me on the bed, fingers still loosely holding one of the flashcards while her breathing turned uneven. Too shallow. Too sharp.My chest tightened immediately.“Ginger?”No response.The air in the room felt strange suddenly. Heavy. Wrong.I sat up straighter beside her, watching carefully as her eyes unfocused slightly like she was listening to something far away.Or someone.“Gia.”Her head snapped toward me instantly.And for the first time in a very long time, fear hit me hard enough to make my stomach twist.Because she looked terrified.Not of me though.“Hey,” I said quietly, reaching for her carefully. “Talk to me.”She flinched.Actually flinched.The movement hit me like a punch to the chest.Gianna never flinched away from me.Her breathing became sharper immediately after. Like she regretted the reaction herself.“I’m okay,” she said too quickly.Lie.I could hear it in her heartbeat.
Gianna.“Bye Cas,” I said, shutting the car door.Cassie smiled at me through the driver’s window before pulling away from the curb, her headlights disappearing slowly down the street.I stood there for a second longer than necessary, staring after her car.My chest still felt strangely warm from everything that happened earlier.Rue forgiving me. Cassie crying over me. People staying.God.I didn’t think I realized how badly I needed that until now.The evening air brushed lightly against my skin as I finally turned toward the house, exhaustion settling deeper into my bones with every step.The second I stepped inside, I headed straight for the kitchen.I was craving something sugary so badly it almost felt aggressive.Thank God there was still leftover cake in the fridge.I grabbed it immediately along with a fork before heading upstairs to my room.The moment I got inside, I kicked my shoes off carelessly before collapsing dramatically onto the bed with the plate balanced against m
Gianna.For the first time in days, my chest didn’t feel unbearably heavy.Not okay. Definitely not okay.But lighter.Like somebody had loosened a rope around my ribs just enough for me to breathe properly again.Rue and I were okay.Well… not fully okay.There were still cracks there. Awkwardness too. But it wasn’t broken anymore and honestly? That mattered more than I realized.I didn’t know how much losing her had been affecting me until I got her back.It felt strange.Good strange.The kind that sat quietly in your chest and made everything hurt a little less.I walked beside Cassie toward the parking lot after our conversation, the afternoon sun warming lightly against my skin while students flooded around us noisily.“You seem more cheerful,” Cassie said casually.I gasped softly.“So you’re saying I’ve been looking dead?”“I’m serious,” she continued, eyeing me suspiciously. “You don’t look like you’re two seconds away from a mental breakdown anymore.”“That’s growth.”“I’m c
Gianna.School felt unbearably loud today.Not loud in an actual way.Nobody was screaming. Nobody was causing chaos in the hallway. Conversations blurred together normally around me, lockers slammed shut, people laughed too hard at things that probably weren’t even funny.Normal.Everything was painfully normal.And somehow that made me feel worse.I know what you're thinking. Why does that make me feel worse?Because it seemed like the world kept moving anyway.People still worried about assignments. About failed quizzes. About who was dating who. Someone somewhere was probably crying over a situationship while I was actively trying not to spiral over the possibility of dying or turning rogue.And the craziest part?I still had to sit here and pretend my life wasn’t quietly falling apart.I still had to blend into normal when nothing about my life felt normal anymore.My head leaned back lightly against the chair as the lecturer continued talking from the front of the room, his voic
Gianna. My whole body ached.Not the normal kind of ache. The kind that came from heat — from memories I couldn’t shake. The kind that still burned even after the fire was gone.I turned on my side and groaned. The sheets still smelled like him. My skin still buzzed, and no matter how many times I
Gianna. The sunlight slipped through the curtains, warm and irritating. My body felt heavy, like I’d run miles in my sleep. I groaned, rolling over, and immediately regretted it. My skin was hot—too hot. It wasn’t just warmth; it was a slow burn that crawled beneath my flesh.Oh, no.“Don’t tell m
Gianna. I woke up staring at the ceiling, sunlight leaking through the curtains. My body felt heavy, like I hadn’t actually rested.A knock came at the door.“Be down in five, Gia!” Mum’s voice sang, and then her footsteps faded.I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. After brushing my teeth and
Gianna.The kitchen was quiet when I walked in, just the hum of the refrigerator and the soft creak of the wooden floor under my feet. I reached for a glass and filled it with water, watching the ripples settle as I drank.That was when I felt it.That strange, almost electric awareness crawling up







