CLAIRE

The room was cold and my wrists hurt where the rope had rubbed them raw. I'd stopped pulling against it hours ago because It wasn't helping anything except making the pain worse.

I didn't know how long I'd been there, time moved strangely in complete darkness, what felt like an hour could have been twenty minutes, what felt like twenty minutes could have been longer.

I thought about Julian constantly as I pressed my back harder against the wall and focused on breathing, the voices outside had quieted down considerably, it was just occasional movement.

The sound of a chair shifting, someone clearing their throat, they weren't worried about...