Mia spent the next two days avoiding her phone as much as possible. She went running in the mornings, helped Aunt Lisa in the garden, and threw herself into whatever Riley suggested. Anything to stop replaying that fight with Ethan in her head.
On Thursday afternoon, she was at the café with Riley when Alex finished his shift and joined them. He looked at her with that gentle concern again.
“You’ve been powering through activities lately,” he said, sliding into the seat beside her. “Everything alright?”
Mia stirred her drink. “Just trying to stay busy.”
Riley raised an eyebrow. “Translation: she had a fight with the complicated guy back home and now she’s pretending she’s fine.”
Mia shot her a look, but Riley just shrugged. “What? I’m observant.”
Alex didn’t push, but he stayed close
