Chapter LUNA'S POINT OF VIEW
The salon was too loud.
I did not notice it at first.
When I walked in, it felt normal. The low hum of dryers. Women talking over each other. Laughter that came and went in waves. The sharp smell of products mixing in the air.
It should have been comforting.
It was not.
I sat in the chair and watched myself in the mirror while the stylist moved behind me, fingers running through my hair, sectioning it, lifting it, asking me questions I barely heard.
Just a trim.
That was all I said.
Just the ends.
Something small.
Something that belonged to me.
Something that had nothing to do with that house.
With Ethan.
With Sara.
With the weight that had been pressing on my chest since the party.
I stared at my reflection.
I looked the same.
That was the strange part.
Nothing on my face showed what I felt.
No one looking at me would know that everything inside me had shifted.
That something had broken.
That something had changed.
The scissors moved.
Soft. Precise.
Small pieces of my hair falling onto the cape.
I focused on that.
On something simple.
Something quiet.
My phone buzzed.
The sound cut through everything.
I turned my head slightly.
The screen lit up.
Rose.
My heart skipped.
I stared at the name for a second longer than I should have.
Rose did not text like this.
She called.
Or she sent short, clear messages.
Never... this.
I picked up the phone.
My fingers felt colder than they should have.
Come to the house. I need to see you. Now.
I read it once.
Then again.
The word now sat heavy in my chest.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not urgent in a normal way.
Something else.
Something I could not explain.
A slow unease spread through me.
"Are you okay?" the stylist asked.
I did not answer her.
I stood up.
Too fast.
The chair moved slightly behind me.
"I need to go," I said.
My voice sounded distant to my own ears.
I reached for my bag with hands that did not feel steady.
"I can finish quickly," she said.
"No."
I shook my head.
"I have to go."
I paid.
I did not even look at the change she handed back.
I walked out before she could say anything else.
The air outside felt different.
Colder.
Heavier.
I walked faster than usual.
My steps quick.
My heart faster than it should have been.
It was just a message.
That was all.
But something inside me would not settle.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The drive took fourteen minutes.
I watched the clock the entire time.
Every second felt longer.
Every red light felt like something was holding me back.
My fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel.
Stop.
Go.
Turn.
Faster.
I should not feel like this.
I told myself that.
Rose was probably fine.
She had probably just needed something.
That was all.
But the feeling stayed.
It sat low in my stomach.
Heavy.
Cold.
Her house came into view.
I slowed down.
Parked.
Stepped out.
And then I saw it.
The door.
Not closed.
Not fully open.
Just... not right.
A small gap.
An inch.
Enough to feel wrong.
Rose never left her door like that.
Never.
My chest tightened.
I walked closer.
My hand reached out.
Pushed it open.
"Rose?"
My voice echoed slightly in the hallway.
No answer.
The house was too quiet.
Not peaceful.
Empty.
Wrong.
I stepped inside.
Closed the door behind me without thinking.
The air smelled familiar.
Wood.
Something soft and floral.
But underneath it...
Something else.
Metallic.
Sharp.
My stomach dropped.
"Rose?"
Louder this time.
Still nothing.
My feet moved faster.
Down the hallway.
Toward the sitting room.
The door was open.
I stepped in.
And everything stopped.
For a second, I could not understand what I was seeing.
My mind refused to accept it.
It tried to fix it.
To turn it into something normal.
Something harmless.
She fell.
She fainted.
She is just resting.
But none of it fit.
None of it made sense.
Rose was on the floor.
Not sitting.
Not leaning.
On the floor.
Still.
Too still.
And there was blood.
So much blood.
It spread across the rug beneath her.
Dark.
Too dark.
Too much.
My breath caught.
Then everything rushed at once.
My body moved before my mind did.
I was on my knees beside her.
My hands shaking.
"Rose."
My voice broke.
I touched her shoulder.
Her skin felt wrong.
Too still.
Too cold.
No.
No.
"No, no, no."
My hands moved quickly.
Her face.
Her arm.
Anywhere.
"Rose, can you hear me?"
My voice came out too fast.
Too loud.
I could not control it.
My heart was racing.
My chest felt tight.
Like I could not get enough air.
Her chest.
I looked at it.
Please.
Move.
Please.
There.
A small movement.
Barely there.
But there.
Relief hit so hard it almost hurt.
"Okay. Okay."
I nodded to myself.
She was alive.
She was alive.
I just needed to help her.
I just needed to keep her alive.
That was all.
My hands pressed against the wound.
I did not think.
I just did it.
The way I had seen once.
Somewhere.
Press.
Stop the bleeding.
My hands slipped slightly.
There was too much blood.
It covered my fingers.
My palms.
I swallowed hard.
Do not panic.
Do not panic.
"Help."
My voice came out weak.
I tried again.
Louder.
"Someone help. Please. Someone call an ambulance."
My voice cracked.
I did not care.
"Please."
I looked toward the door.
No one.
Nothing.
Just silence.
I turned back to her.
"Rose, stay with me."
My voice dropped.
Soft.
Shaking.
"Please stay with me."
I kept talking.
I did not even know what I was saying anymore.
Just words.
Anything.
To keep her here.
To keep myself from breaking.
Time stopped making sense.
Seconds felt long.
Or maybe too fast.
I did not know.
I just knelt there.
Hands pressing.
Heart racing.
Mind spinning.
Please let her live.
Please.
The sound of the door.
Loud.
Sudden.
I looked up.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Voices.
Ethan.
Emily.
Sara.
They entered the room.
And stopped.
I saw it happen.
The moment they saw.
Rose on the floor.
The blood.
Me.
My hands.
My face.
Everything.
"What did you do."
Ethan.
His voice cut through me.
Flat.
Cold.
Certain.
Not a question.
A judgment.
My chest tightened.
"I found her like this."
My words came out uneven.
I could not make them steady.
"I got her message. I came. The door was open. She was already-"
"What did you do to her."
Louder now.
Harder.
"I did not do anything."
My hands pressed harder against the wound.
"She is alive. Ethan, please. She needs help. We need to call-"
"What did you do."
The same words.
Again.
Like he did not hear me.
Or did not want to.
My throat tightened.
"I did not do this."
My voice dropped.
It felt smaller.
"We need an ambulance."
A voice from the side.
"I saw everything."
I turned.
A woman stood near the wall.
One of the staff.
I had seen her before.
But I had not noticed her come in.
Her arms were tight against her body.
Her eyes avoided mine.
The room went quiet.
"They were arguing," she said.
Her voice shook slightly.
But not enough.
"I heard them. Mrs Rose and her."
She pointed at me.
My chest tightened.
"No."
"And then I heard a cry. I came in and Mrs Rose was on the floor."
My heart started beating faster.
"I was not here."
My voice came out quick.
Too quick.
"I just got here. She texted me. I came straight-"
"I saw you."
She still would not look at me.
"I saw what you did."
Everything inside me dropped.
Like the ground had disappeared.
"That is not true."
I shook my head.
"I was not here. I swear."
Emily moved.
Fast.
I did not see it coming.
The slap hit hard.
My head snapped to the side.
Pain exploded across my cheek.
Sharp.
Burning.
I lost my balance.
My hand slipped on the blood.
I caught myself on the floor.
My vision blurred for a second.
A ringing sound filled my ears.
"You did this."
Emily's voice shook.
Not with fear.
With anger.
"You have been trying to destroy this family from the beginning."
My chest rose quickly.
"I did not-"
"And now you have done this."
Her voice broke.
"You did this to her. To the only person who ever showed you kindness."
"I did not do this."
My voice felt weak.
Like it did not belong to me.
"Liar."
The word hit harder than the slap.
"You lying, ungrateful girl."
"Ethan."
I turned to him.
I needed him.
Just one person.
Just one.
"Ethan, please."
My voice shook.
"I came because she texted me. I have been at the salon. They will tell you. I was there when the message came. I came straight here."
My chest tightened.
"I found her like this. I swear."
He looked at me.
Really looked.
His eyes moved.
My face.
My hands.
The blood.
Rose.
Back to me.
For a second...
Something flickered.
Something uncertain.
Hope rose.
Small.
Fragile.
Then it was gone.
His face hardened.
He reached for his phone.
"No."
My heart dropped.
"Ethan, please do not-"
He was already dialing.
My chest tightened.
I could hear his voice.
Calm.
Clear.
Controlled.
Giving the address.
Explaining.
Reporting.
Reporting me.
I felt something inside me crack.
Quiet.
Deep.
I looked at Sara.
She had not moved.
Not once.
She stood at the door.
Watching.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
Like this did not surprise her.
Like she had expected it.
Something cold moved through me.
A thought.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
She met my eyes.
And for a second...
I saw it.
Not clearly.
But enough.
Something hidden.
Something satisfied.
Then it was gone.
Her face returned to nothing.
"You will pay for this."
Ethan lowered his phone.
His voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
Louder would have been easier.
"I did not do this."
My voice broke.
But I forced the words out.
"I did not."
He did not react.
"Whatever it takes," he said, "you will pay."
The words settled.
Heavy.
Final.
The siren started in the distance.
Faint.
Growing.
Closer.
My hands were still on Rose.
Still pressing.
Still trying.
But everything else felt like it was falling apart.
No one believed me.
Not him.
Not Emily.
Not anyone.
I looked down at my hands.
Covered in blood.
Shaking.
This looked bad.
I knew it.
Anyone would think the same.
Anyone would see this and...
My chest tightened.
A sharp breath left me.
No.
No.
I could not fall apart.
Not now.
Not when she was still breathing.
Not when she needed me.
I leaned closer.
"Rose."
My voice was softer now.
Almost a whisper.
"Please stay with me."
The siren got louder.
Closer.
Closer.
And in that moment...
I understood something.
Clear.
Cold.
There was no one here who was going to save me.
No one who would stand between me and what was coming.
I was alone.
And whatever happened next...
I would have to survive it on my own.
