[Sera]
"Are you okay?" Ryan's voice cuts through the haze, all wide-eyed concern.
I try to speak, to brush it off like always—"It's nothing. I'm fine"—but the words lodge in my throat like shards of glass. Just more tears, hot and relentless, turning the world into a blurry mess.
He doesn't push. Doesn't demand details. Just shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders, the warmth cutting through the chill. It smells like turpentine and something clean, like fresh linen. "It's too cold out here," he mutters, awkward but earnest. "Let's find somewhere else, yeah?"
I nod, not trusting my voice. My legs feel like they might give out any second, but I follow him anyway, letting him steer us away from the glowing entrance.
"Figured I'd swing by after class," he says, rubbing the b
