The one I had kept hidden. The only picture I had left of my parents. The last piece of my old life I had managed to protect in this house that had taken everything else from me.
Or at least… it had been.
Now it was destroyed.
Shredded into countless tiny fragments, each piece torn cleanly, deliberately, like someone had taken their time to make sure it could never be whole again.
My breath hitched violently. My hand flew to my mouth, but it did nothing to stop the sob that tore out of me.
Then I saw the note.
Written in messy, childish handwriting.
"We told you to leave. Next time, it won't just be a photo."
My fingers curled tightly around the torn pieces, crushing them in my fist as my entire body shook uncontrollably.
Why?
Why this?
That picture… it was all I had left. Of my parents. Of my past. Of the life I used to have before everything fell apart.
I pressed the broken pieces against my chest, as if I could somehow hold them together, as if I could stop the pain from spreading any further.
Memories flooded in without warning.