Chapter 23: The Dream That Never Fades
Janet tossed restlessly in her sleep. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, her lips trembling as if whispering a scream she couldn't release.
In her dream, she was seventeen again.
It was her high school—bright corridors, chatter, books, laughter… until the moment everything turned dark.
There had been a boy in school. A classmate. Quiet at first, but his eyes always followed her—too long, too often. He liked her. Everyone knew it.
One day, he'd finally confessed, standing awkwardly in front of her locker with flowers in hand. Janet had politely refused. She already had someone she liked—or so she thought. She had never expected what came after.
That boy hadn't taken rejection lightly. What began as a bruised ego soon twisted into obsession and rage.
And then, one ordinary afternoon, as the bell rang for the final class, he and a few of his friends cornered her. Before she could scream, they had drugged her—something bitter over a cloth—and everything had gone black.
She woke up in a place that smelled like cigarettes and rotting beer.
Her eyes fluttered open.
She was tied. Hands and feet.
On the cold floor of a filthy, abandoned room.