22. Hope

After Vera interrupted my shower during the full moon, I hid. I locked my door until hunger made me roam the empty corridors late at night. I don't want to see her, or anyone, really.

Her threats replay in my head.

She knows I’ve been to see Sol.

I should tell Elvie what I’ve discovered. But then Vera will just wreck my life with rumours about Cal.

Rumours that are inches away from being true.

I pace the room, despising every single beige tone. Everything here is designed to make me relax. It just increases my irritation. I want something to smash, but there is nothing worth hurling.

Out of options, I head to the little library. Numbly, dressed in only my little pyjama shirt and shorts, I start work on a new portrait. It’s not my mother, though. Soft brown curls tumbling over a broad, strong forehead, barely reaching a pair of dark eyebrows.

A firm jaw, one I had thought too severe at first. Or too cocky, but now only looks handsome in my eyes. Like it needs my hand placing against