The second Jake’s text lit up my phone, I swear the whole hallway tilted. Like the air shifted into something heavier, something I wasn’t ready to feel yet. It wasn’t panic… not exactly. More like guilt mixed with a stupid amount of longing.
Not fair, not smart, not sustainable but real. I didn’t reply because I couldn’t.
My hands were actually shaking, which annoyed me even more because what was I? A teenager? A dramatic mess? Apparently yes.
I shoved my phone into my back pocket and walked upstairs. And of course, Ryan was in the hallway leaning against the wall like he had been waiting but pretending he wasn’t.
He didn’t look at me at first. He stared at the opposite wall as it offended him. His jaw was tight, that muscle ticking the same way it always did when he was trying too ha
