Serpentine Desires
And when I thought, I was reaching the bottom of the dark ocean, strong hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me towards them.
I screamed, thrashing wildly. The darkness was closing in, suffocating me. I was drowning, being pulled under by unseen hands.
Panic surged through me like wildfire.
"Stop!" I gasped, clawing at the air, my vision blurring with tears. "Please, stop!"
"Sera!" The voice was louder now, more imperative. "It's me. It's Ivan."
The name barely registered, lost in the darkness. The hands on my shoulders held firm, but not painfully. They were grounding, preventing me from spiralling further into the abyss.