The skin on my arm was already turning red, the blisters rising. I could barely hear her through the pain. My breath came in short gasps as I turned and stumbled toward the stairs, desperate to get to the bathroom, to the ointment or anything to stop the burning.
But before I could reach the first step, something hit me hard from behind.
I didn’t even have time to scream properly. Just one sharp sound when my body went flying forward.
Everything blurred.
Then pain. Crashing. My body hit each step before landing flat on the cold floor.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. I just saw red spreading on the carpet under me. It took me a few seconds to realize it was blood. My blood.
Then Loriana’s scream filled the house. “Rosie!”
I heard her footsteps, light, calculated. She threw herself down the stairs too, landing beside me like she was part of the tragedy.
In the kitchen, I heard Dominic shout, the fridge door slamming. He came running. I saw him freeze when he saw us.
“Lory!” He rushed straight to her. Not me. Her.
He grabbed her, checking her ankle, his hands shaking. “Where does it hurt? Tell me where it hurts?!”