HAYDEN
Coleen’s apartment always smelled faintly like vanilla and fresh laundry. It was nothing fancy, just the small space she shared with Mark, but for me, it was starting to feel like a safe place. A place where the noise of hockey, expectations, and scouts couldn’t reach me.
In fact, I could be beside a dumpster and still feel the same as long as I was with Coleen.
She was curled up on the couch when I came in, a blanket draped over her legs, her hair falling in loose waves over her shoulders. A textbook sat open on the coffee table, though the way she was staring at it, I doubted she was actually reading.
“Long day?” I asked, shutting the door behind me.
Her lips curved into a tired smile. “You could say that. You?”
I let out a low laugh and dropped onto the couch beside her, ru
