-Elena-
I was sitting in the black Audi as my aunt sped down the deserted roads of our small town. Her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. I clutched my hoodie close to me and shrank back into my seat. The tension in the car was clear, almost thick enough to cut with a knife.
Just twenty minutes earlier, my aunt had found me in the nurse’s office, groggy and with wild, unfocused eyes. I had been huddled with my arms around my knees, unable to speak or engage with anyone.
I had hidden behind my hair, trapped in my own mind, where old and new memories blurred together, making the real world seem to vanish. My aunt was frantic when she saw me in that state and threatened to sue the school for not being more attentive after everything I had been through.
Iron
