Chapter 1

Something heavy was pinning me down.

 

At first, I thought it was just the usual aftermath of a long night of drinking—the kind of exhaustion that made even breathing feel like a chore. My graduation party had been a blur of neon lights and pounding music, friends pressing drink after drink into my hand. I remembered laughing too loudly, spinning too fast, losing track of which glass belonged to me. I didn’t remember coming home.

But I always followed one rule.

No matter how wasted I was, I always returned to my own room.

This morning, though… everything felt wrong.

A deep, aching pain pulsed through every muscle. A stinging soreness crawled up my thighs, unfamiliar and terrifying. And on top of that—a weight pressed against my lower body, solid and unmoving, as if someone was draped over me.