Chapter 10: The Weight of Reality
I opened my eyes.
I was in my room. Only I wasn't alone. The thing was still here, whispering things that made my blood cold, I felt like I couldn't breathe as more words spilled out.
The house was silent. My hands weren't shaking. My mind wasn't spinning.
Zoey was gone.
"because of you…"
I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized the entity's words had become my own darkest thoughts.
Had she ever really been there?
Memories came rushing back all at once. The grief. The guilt. The way I had blamed myself for not seeing the signs.
"She could still have been alive if you just noticed the signs…" the words repeated like a mantra, in my mind until I was consumed by the crushing weight of what- had happened, the weight of the unknown, and the weight of my own guilt. The memories of that had haunted me.
The way I had convinced myself that if I had just tried harder, she would still be here.
"She died because of you…" The weight of that realization was crushing me, making it hard to breathe. I felt like I was drowning in the entity's lies.
But she wouldn't.
"You could have saved her…"
Because it wasn't my fault.
"It is your fault…" The words echoed in my mind, a haunting refrain that I couldn't shake.
Zoey had been hurting. And I hadn't caused that pain.
I took a deep breath, the crushing weight in my chest finally lifting.
She was gone. And that would always hurt.
But she wouldn't want me to drown in guilt.
She would want me to live.
I exhaled. As the air escaped my lungs, a sense of calm washed over me, and for the first time in two years— I let her go. I let my guilt go.
But the guilt still lingered and followed me. Whispering the what if's i had, and how it will always be my fault. But in that moment, I felt Zoey's presence around me, but it was different this time. It was as if she had finally found peace, and in doing so, had given me permission to do so.