Chapter 15 Her Story

• Sebastian
• I wait, my chest tightening with each second, as I wonder if she’ll find the courage to tell me. Her silence feels heavy, weighted by memories she can’t escape. We sit in the small tent nestled within the dense forest, the creak of the wooden beams almost echoing her hesitation. Finally, her voice breaks through the stillness, soft but strained.
• “I was sixteen when my mum moved us,” she begins, her words halting as if she’s testing the waters of her own resolve. “Her new partner had said we could stay with him.”