Page 119 of The Dark Stranger
Because Izzy was there with me. Supporting me. Standing by me.
That had to count for something.
Right?
“Proud of you,” he said at one point, his voice low near my ear.
I smiled, leaning into it just slightly.
“You should be.”
He smirked.
“I am.”
And I let myself believe that was enough. That whatever anyone else saw didn’t matter.
Because I had this.
I had my shop. My people. My moment.
And I wasn’t going to let anything take that from me.
The music blurred a little. The laughter stretched. The room started to feel distant around the edges, like something was pulling me away from it. Slow. Unsteady.
The lights—
They flicker.
No.
They don’t flicker.
They change.
Too bright. Too sharp.
The sound shifts. That steady hum of machines twisting into something else. A ringing. High. Persistent.
My chest tightens.
No.
Not here.
Something’s wrong.
The room starts slipping. Faces blur. Voices fade.
And then—
It hits.
Hands.
Rough. Fast.
My body jerks. I can feel it again. The fight.
