(Elle’s POV)
The note lay on the counter, mocking me in its crooked letters. My pulse hammered as I read it again, then again, like maybe the words would change if I stared long enough.
They didn’t.
But admitting what they meant? No. I wasn’t ready.
With a shaky laugh, I crumpled the paper in my fist and shoved it deep into the trash. “Some stupid prank,” I whispered to the empty kitchen. “People have too much time.”
Even as I said it, my hand wouldn’t stop trembling.
The next morning, I acted like nothing happened.
I plastered on my smile, teased Liam the way I always did, even let him copy off my notes because he’d been half-asleep in class again.
And for a while, it worked. I almost believed it myself.
Almost.
Except every time my eyes wandered, I looked for Aiden. And when he
