⊰ 32 ⊱ Confronting the Past

Content Advisory: Contains themes that may be triggering. Reader discretion is advised.

There are times when you know something’s wrong, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. More often than not, it’s something trivial like leaving the TV on or forgetting to turn off the lights. Occasionally, it might be forgetting to lock the front food or leaving the stove on—perhaps even the water running.

None of which would happen to me.

It can’t. I’m too thorough to let it.

It’s an innate feeling—a warning.

So you can imagine my surprise when I find myself unlocking the front door, only to be forced into my living room and onto a dining room chair in the next moment.

I gasp loudly, and before I can fully register what’s happening, adrenaline and instinct kick in, and I’m screaming at the top of my lungs. Unfortunately, my screams are quickly muffled by one of the sets of