_Kaden's POV_
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, my hands trembling slightly as I stared at Avery's name on the screen. She was the one person I could trust in all of this, the only person who understood the weight of what was happening. I pressed the call button and brought the phone to my ear. It rang twice before her soft, familiar voice came through.
"Kaden?" she said, a hint of concern in her tone. "What is wrong? Are you okay?"
Hearing her voice instantly soothed some of the anger boiling inside me, but the heaviness in my chest remained. "I’m fine," I said, though my voice betrayed the lie. "At least, I will be. I needed to talk to you about something."
"Of course," she said quickly. "What happened?"
I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I leaned against a tree. The fore
