***Ella***
After breakfast, I meet Austin down in the atrium. Outside, the air is sharp and biting, the ground coated in a thin, glittering frost. It’s the kind of cold that seeps into your bones, forcing me to tug my winter bobble hat down over my ears.
Austin, however, seems utterly unbothered by the chill. He grins as he takes my hand, his warmth seeping through my glove as he leads me toward the car park.
But the moment my boots hit the pavement, I falter. The cold isn't what makes me shiver now, it's the memory of the last time I was here. The memory of the confusion, the pain and the way I'd turned my back on everything I didn’t understand. My heart clenches, the ache still fresh and raw.
Austin stops immediately, turning back to me as if he could feel the shift in my emotions. H
