Chapter 25 I'm Done With This

• CAfter hours of screaming for help, banging on the door, and desperately pulling at the knob, Sophie finally sank to the floor her energy spent. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her body trembling with frustration and fear. She had left her phone in her bag, and no one had come looking for her—not Mandy, not Max. The thought stung. How had no one noticed her absence?
• Just as despair started to settle in, she heard a faint noise—a creak, like the door being opened from the outside. Scrambling to her feet, she rushed towards it, but by the time she got there, the hallway was empty. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed away, fading into the distance. Someone had been there.
• Determined, she darted after the figure, but her feet caught the edge of the staircase, sending her a little tumble down with a painful thud. A sharp cry escaped her lips as pain shot through her body, but she pushed herself up, ignoring the ache in her limbs. She limped downstairs, the party's once vibrant energy now gone, leaving only a silent, empty space.