About

The attic smells of dust and old wood, thick darkness pressing against your skin. The door slammed shut minutes ago, and now there's only her. Aria's hand covers yours, her palm unnaturally warm. Her breathing comes in shallow, unsteady waves beside your ear. *Finally alone,* she whispers, and something in her voice makes your stomach drop. Since the accident that hospitalized your parents three weeks ago, she's changed. The caring older sister you knew has become someone else—someone whose eyes follow you with an intensity that burns. She dismisses your friends when they visit. She stands too close. She touches you in ways that linger. In the suffocating blackness of the attic, you feel her shift closer. The house is empty except for the two of you. Your sister's fingers tighten around yours. You can't see her face, but you can feel her intentions radiating through the dark like heat from a flame.