Zach
I still couldn’t believe I was hearing Nicole’s voice. Leah’s murmurs on the other end were barely audible, and I suspected she was speaking to Nicole.
The distance in their tones, the effort it took to speak, only made the ache in my chest worse. I tried to focus on the conversation, but my mind refused to stay still. My grip on the phone tightened as a flood of emotions hit me—relief that Nicole was alive, guilt for not being there when she needed me, and a simmering anger I couldn’t place.
The murmurs on the other end were almost unintelligible, yet their weight pressed down like a boulder. I wanted to scream into the phone for answers, but the words wouldn’t come.
Finally, I pressed the red button, ending the call abruptly. Silence followed—deafening. My reflection stared back
