Maddox:
I didn’t sleep.
I couldn’t.
After Jules ran, I tried to follow. I called her name again and again through the pulsing chaos, but the crowd swallowed her. My feet moved, my lungs burned, but I was too late. She was already gone.
People looked at me like they expected a show. Some laughed. Some whispered. Ava tried to call after me. I didn’t even turn around.
I didn’t go back inside. I left the party and ran straight to her dorm.
It was locked. The hallway was quiet. A couple of people passed, still laughing, still loud with leftover adrenaline from the game and the party. I sat down on the floor, back against the wall next to her door.
I waited.
Minutes passed. Then hours.
I kept my phone in my hand, checking it every few seconds, sending text after text.
> Jules, I swe
