Cole:
I was pacing.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
The theater classroom buzzed around me—scripts rustled, laughter echoed, the clatter of folding chairs filled the air—but I was stuck inside my own head. My foot tapped with each passing second, my eyes flicking to the door over and over again.
Waiting.
For her.
Juliette.
Every cell in my body was on edge. The same way it gets right before the final play of a tied game—adrenaline burning, chest tight, heart threatening to pound through your ribs. I hadn’t slept. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t think. I told myself I just wanted to see her. Check in. Make sure she was okay.
But deep down, I knew it was more than that.
I was falling.
And I wasn’t in control anymore.
When she finally walked in, it felt like the world tilted.
She looked...
