(Lucy’s POV)
The morning air smelt faintly of disinfectant and rain. I stepped out of the hospital gates with a small paper bag of prescriptions and a hollow ache that painkillers couldn’t reach. My legs felt weak, not from the medication, but from everything I had lost in a single week.
My first instinct was to go home, but I didn’t have one. So, I went to the only place that had ever felt close.
The dorm.
When I reached the gate, the porter straightened, clearly uncomfortable. He had always been kind to me, but now, his voice was clipped and apologetic.
“Miss Hale,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re not allowed on school premises for the meantime. The order came down this morning.”
My fingers tightened around my hospital bag. “Please, I just… I need to collect my thin
