Scarlet
I felt him before I saw him in the reflection. But only barely.
Damien.
His reflection sliced through mine in the bookstore window like a phantom memory I’d never quite managed to erase. My chest clenched in reflex, like my heart still hadn’t caught up to the truth of us, whatever truth that was now.
He hadn’t changed clothes since this morning at school. Still in that fitted black tee and faded jeans, the silver chain around his neck catching the sunlight. The kind of effortless mess that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed and still managed to make people stare. But it wasn’t his appearance that made my throat go dry.
It was the look on his face.
He wasn’t leaning against the car anymore. He’d stepped away, slow but deliberate, like gravity pulled him toward me. His br
