CADEN
The afternoon dragged on and it was hard to hide my exhaustion. I sat through my remaining classes without absorbing a single word.
Teachers droned on about subjects that seemed impossibly distant, their voices reduced to meaningless background noise.
My phone stayed in my pocket. It was silent and heavy with the weight of Ella's absence.
Not today. I'm sorry.
Her words echoed through my mind on repeat, a puzzle I couldn't solve no matter how many times I turned it over.
I was walking toward my locker when I sensed someone fall into step beside me. The scent hit me first. It was floral and slightly overwhelming. Then came the click of shoes against the floors, perfectly timed to match my stride.
“You look miserable.”
Elizabeth's voice was casual and almost conversational, l
