Hope

I sit across from Emma, legs bouncing, fingers twitching. I haven’t slept in two nights, maybe three. Not well, anyway. The dreams keep coming—louder, clearer, darker.

"I need your help," I say. My voice comes out rough, like I’ve been screaming. Maybe I have, in my sleep.

Emma doesn’t flinch. She never does. "Talk to me."

I take a breath, but it sticks in my throat. I swallow it back down, try again. "It’s the dreams again. They're not just dreams. It feels like... a warning. A betrayal. Someone close. I don’t know who, but it’s real. Too real."

Emma leans forward. “Who betrays you?”

"I don't know." I...