I sat on the edge of my bed long after the call ended.
My phone rested beside me, dark and motionless.
The atmosphere around me was calm and quiet, but my mind wasn't. Ryan's voice still lingered in my head.
"I'm the only one who never lied to you."
Years back, those words would have comforted me and ended every confusion Shadric was trying to stir up within me.
Ryan had always been the person I relied on without fear. He had been there when nobody else was. When I convinced myself I would never recover from what happened. Ryan stayed.
That was the truth. At least, it had always felt like my truth.
I leaned forward and rubbed my forehead.
The memory refused to leave me alone.
The blue envelope. The way Ryan took it from my hands.
Ryan promised he would help. Ryan stood in that cr
