Clare's POV:
I couldn't breathe.
It was as if my chest was being crushed under an unbearable weight. My hands gripped the handlebars of my bike, knuckles white, but I couldn't control the sudden, overwhelming urge to just go. My eyes darted behind me, and there he was—Clark. My brother. Alive.
I saw him so clearly, as if he were standing just a few feet away, calling my name.
"Clare! Don't leave me! Please, don't go! You have to turn back, please… you can't leave me!"
He was running toward me, his face pleading, the desperate look in his eyes cutting into me. My heart squeezed painfully as I felt my entire body wanting to go to him. But my hands wouldn't let me turn the bike around. My feet couldn't make the bike stop.
I couldn't go back.
