Emma:
The walk back to my dorm is a blur. Every step feels like I’m wading through cement, the campus a smear of color and sound that belongs to someone else. I’m hollowed out, a ghost moving through a world I no longer recognize. My hand is on the doorknob before I realize I’m even here.
I push it open. Tessa’s on her bed, scrolling through her phone. She looks up, and her smile vanishes when she sees my face. “Em? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I have. I just left him. The words are a thick, painful knot in my throat. I shake my head, unable to speak, and sink onto my own bed across from hers. The mattress feels like it’s swallowing me whole.
“Oh my god, Emma, you’re scaring me. Talk to me.” She’s off her bed in a second, sitting beside me, her hand on my back. The
