Tuesday morning arrived with a heaviness Ava couldn’t quite explain.
Nothing terrible had happened.
There hadn’t been a fight.
No harsh words.
No accusations.
Yet as she walked across campus, she couldn’t stop replaying the previous evening in her mind.
Mason had tried.
She knew he had.
He’d silenced his phone.
He’d apologized before she’d even said anything.
He’d made time for dinner.
But work had still found its way to their table.
For the first time, she wondered if this was simply what adulthood looked like.
Or if something else was changing.
She pushed the thought aside as she stepped into the nursing building.
Emily was already waiting outside the classroom, balancing two cups of coffee.
“You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep very well.”
Emily handed her one of the coffe
