Chapter55: The Girl in the Tower

*Roxy* I settle into bed, my comfy mattress soft beneath me. The tower feels colder at night, even with the thick stone walls holding the chill at bay. I pull my blanket closer, but it barely wards off the shiver crawling down my spine. The silence is too heavy. I should be used to it by now, but tonight, the stillness presses on me. Shadows pool on the stone floor, stretching long and dark beneath the faint moonlight streaking in through the window. I tell myself I’m alone, and I’m safe, but the feeling that I’m being watched doesn’t fade. A flicker of movement catches my eye, a glimmer just beyond the window, or maybe inside the room.... My heart beats wild and loud. I scan the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Nothing but stone. I clutch the blanket tighter and pull it up to my chin, trying to summon the courage to close my eyes. Though, every creak of the tower, every whisper of the wind, sets my nerves on edge. What if someone’s out there? Watching me? I force my breath to slow, remi