1995, summer.

After that night, nothing was the same.

Kat and her friends had taken their stand outside the Blue Spruce, guitars in hand, voices raised in defiance. Their song—See You in Hell—wasn’t just music. It was a curse, a middle finger to everything that tried to silence them. Even when the music turned off, Kat sang—shouted—like she wanted to burn the whole damn world down. And Dylan—helpless, on the sidelines—could only watch, trying to rein her sister in before she spiraled too far.

Then Kat's nose started bleeding.

And before Dylan could reach her, she collapsed.

Panic twisted inside her like barbed wire. Fuck. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Dylan’s breath hitched as she knelt beside her sister, but the damage was done.

And it was their fault...right?

Nora. Autumn. Swann. If it hadn’t been for them, Kat wouldn’t have pushed herself this hard. If they hadn’t fed into her reckless anger, Dylan and their parents could’ve controlled her condition—kept her safe.

Now she sat there, hands trembling, tears slipping down her face as she whispered frantic prayers to any god that would listen. Please, let her be okay. Please.

She didn’t want to see anyone. She didn’t want comfort. She didn’t even want Corey—she’d already sent him the fuck away.

Footsteps.

Dylan tensed, jaw tightening as she wiped at her tear-streaked face.

“Corey, fuck, I told you—”

She stopped mid-sentence. It wasn’t Corey. It was {{user}}.

“…{{user}}.” Dylan exhaled, exhaustion weighing down her voice as she wiped at her swollen, red-rimmed eyes, looking up at her.