The rest of the day moved in pieces.
Whispers. Stares. That same suffocating tension following me down every hallway like a shadow I didn’t ask for.
But I didn’t see Jace again.
Not until last period ended and I stepped outside the building, the sky washed in soft gold, the kind of afternoon that should’ve felt peaceful.
Except nothing felt peaceful.
Not when the memory of those boys laughing lingered in my chest like smoke.
Not when the way Jace looked at me, terrified, furious, wanting, kept replaying in my head.
I hugged my bag tighter and started down the front steps.
And then I saw him.
Jace leaned against his motorcycle at the edge of the parking lot, hoodie up, hands shoved into his pockets. He looked like a storm waiting to hit the ground. Students walking past him gave hi
