JAMES POV
We both sat quietly in the car, the air thick with things unspoken. Her phone suddenly buzzed, she quickly brought it out of her bag, and I watched as her face dropped.
“Stella… what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, masking the worried expression with a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. But I saw the worry boldly written on her face.
“Stella, I know something is wrong… can you just tell me?”
“I promise it’s nothing you need to worry about.”
Stella was so many things, but a good liar was not part of it. She looked like she was breaking down from the inside out.
I didn’t push—she lifted her phone up again and as she went through it, I watched her look like she was dying all over again. I couldn’t help but swipe the phone from her hands.
“James…” she said, trying
