Hayden
I watched her sleep. Ashley’s chest rose and fell steadily, the rhythm of her breathing a calm opposite to the chaos I carried inside me. Every promise I had made to her was a lie. I could not leave the gang, not now, not like she thought. It took time to disentangle myself from this life, time that I did not have before college. By then, maybe I could actually make good on the promises I had whispered to her last night.
My phone buzzed beside me. I reached over and noticed that it was just some random notification. I hissed as my finger slipped, hitting the gallery. As I checked through, I saw a photo in my gallery. It was a baby picture, me with my parents. I stared at it for a while, wondering if they ever missed me. Did they care that I was alive, that I was still breathing, s
