Hailey

The sunlight hitting my face didn't feel warm. It felt heavy, like a physical weight pressing against my skin. I didn't wake up with the usual slow drift from sleep to reality. Instead, I snapped awake, my eyes flying open as if a silent alarm had gone off inside my skull. The air in the master suite felt different. It was vibrating. I could hear the distant, muffled hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen three floors down. I could hear the rustle of the wind against the ivy on the outer walls.

I sat up, and the silk sheets hissed against my skin. The sound was deafening. My...