Chapter 15 – Talia’s POV
I sat curled up on the couch, the television playing softly in the background, but I wasn’t really watching it. The voices from it blurred together, turning into nothing more than noise as my mind kept circling back to what had happened earlier.
Abena’s words wouldn’t leave me alone.
They clung to me, settling deep in my chest in a way I couldn’t shake.
My stomach twisted again, and I shifted slightly, pulling my knees closer as if that would somehow steady me. It didn’t.
I tried focusing on the screen, on the light, on anything that could distract me, but it all felt distant.
Then the door rattled.
I flinched, my body reacting before my mind could catch up, and for a brief second, something hopeful stirred in my chest.
Vermont.
I pushed myself up quickly
