Ava’s POV
“Are you already asleep?”
Corren’s voice filled the room before I fully registered the shape of him in the doorway. I turned my head on the pillow, forcing my body to stay loose and heavy against the mattress, and looked at him through half-lowered lashes. The phone sat like a hard secret under the pillow beneath my cheek. Every muscle in my arm wanted to check that the screen was fully covered. I did not let it move.
I made my face soft and tired. I let my mouth stay slightly parted, as if the day at school had drained me completely and sleep had already begun to pull me under. The performance felt thin from the inside. My heart was beating hard enough that I was half-convinced he could see it in my throat.
He remained in the doorway for a moment, studying me. The late-after
