The heavy rain pounded relentlessly against the large glass windows of the Starlight Diner, blurring the colorful neon signs of the off-campus street into a watery, fractured smear. It was Saturday morning, and the small restaurant was packed with hungover college students seeking loud refuge in greasy bacon and bottomless coffee.
Mara sat perfectly rigid in a cracked red vinyl booth tucked in the far back corner, nursing her third cup of black tea. Dark, bruised circles hung heavy beneath her eyes. She hadn't slept a single minute on Sofia’s floor the night before, her mind endlessly replaying the terrifying click of her apartment door unlocking.
Sofia sat across from her, pushing a plate of half-eaten pancakes away. Her brow was furrowed in deep concern. Until this exact moment, Sofia
