Elena Cruz
Elena sat across from Ethan at a small coffee shop downtown. He was talking about his soccer game last night. How his team won. How he scored the final goal. How the crowd went crazy.
She nodded and smiled when it seemed right but wasn’t really listening.
Something felt off.
Her chest was tight. Her skin felt too warm. Everything around her seemed louder than it should be. The espresso machine hissing steam. Conversations from other tables bleeding together. The scrape of chairs against the floor. Someone laughing too loud near the window.
“Elena?”
She blinked. “What?”
“I asked if you wanted to come to the next game. This weekend.”
“Oh. Yeah. Maybe.”
Ethan leaned forward. “You okay? You seem distracted.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“You sure? We can leave if you’re not fe
