Episode 04: The Pattern

Sienna had learned love in the language of whiplash. Her mother’s laughter could fill a room one minute and vanish the next, replaced by slammed doors and days of silence that felt like punishment for existing too loudly. Her father’s affection came in sudden, fierce bursts—scooping her

The cursor blinked like a heartbeat I couldn’t outrun. Last night’s message from him still glowed on my screen, Your move, Lila, and something in me had snapped clean in two.