Page 42 of Iced Up Love: Part Two

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My thoughts slipping further out of reach the longer I lie there, the weight of it dragging me under in a way I don’t fight.

The last thing I’m aware of is the way my grip loosens slightly in the sheets, my face still buried in her pillow as everything fades.

And the quiet, broken sound of my breathing before it disappears.

Then nothing.

ten

Liana

I wake up already tense.

Not slowly, not drifting, my eyes open and my body is tight before I even understand why, like something in me already knows this isn’t safe.

The ceiling above me is wood.

That’s the first thing that lands.

Not concrete. Not bare. Not where I was before.

I don’t move straight away. I stay still, listening.

There’s music playing somewhere nearby. Quiet, but clear enough to carry through the space, and underneath it I can hear movement, something cooking, a pan shifting, a small scrape against a surface.

A man’s voice follows the music.

Soft. Unforced.

“I’ll keep you safe in these arms of mine… I’ll hold you closer through the darkest nights…”

My stomach tightens.

I push myself up slowly, my head lagging behind the movement, the dizziness still there, like I’m not fully clear yet. The bed dips under me. There’s a blanket over my legs. Everything about it feels wrong in a way that’s hard to explain, because it looks normal.

Too normal.

The room is small. Timber walls. A narrow window with dull light pushing through it, like we’re surrounded by trees. No restraints on my wrists. No ropes. No ties.

That should feel like relief.

It doesn’t.

The music continues.

“I know the world can turn so cold… but you’ll never be alone…”

I swing my legs off the bed and sit there for a second, letting the dizziness settle just enough that I can stand without falling. My body still feels slow, slightly disconnected, but I can move.

The door is open.

Just enough to see through it.

I step toward it carefully, placing each step so it doesn’t make noise, my breathing shallow without me meaning to keep it that way.

The kitchen is small.

He’s there.

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