Brooke woke up screaming. The sheets clung to her with sweat and her cheeks were soaked with salty tears. She scrambled out of bed and into the bathroom. What she found in the mirror was a pair of dilated, bloodshot eyes staring back at her.

Brooke gasped and gasped but could find no air. Recollection brought panges of agony... soundless breathing... dark eyes...

Brooke grabbed at her chest and curled in on herself. Her legs were shaking so hard she could barely stand.

"Make it stop make it stop make it stop..."

One number kept flashing in the back of her mind, branded there, each curve burning white hot.

9.

****

A week passed. The phone log read "5 missed calls, 13 new messages". They were all from Maura.

Brooke wrenched her eyes shut. She just couldn't.

'We have to come back. At least once a week to check on the... the...'

'Sure, okay.' Brooke tried to pull her arm back but Maura's grip tightened.

'Promise me.' Maura's brown eyes held no trace of insincerity.

'Fine. I promise.'

"I'm so sorry Maura." Brooke whispered to the dead silence that filled her bedroom.