FIRST DAY
~TATE’S POV~
"Are you okay, Tate?" Lyra’s voice cut through the fog of my thoughts.
She was driving Myra and me to school, her hands steady on the wheel. Her eyes kept darting to the mirror, searching my face like she could pry open the truth.
It was Monday—my first day at a new school.
"I’m fine," I lied, forcing a smile that felt thin, breakable.
"You sure?" she pressed, softer now. "First-day nerves?"
"No." My voice was flat.
School wasn’t what had me tied in knots. It was her. The girl from the mall. The way she had walked up to Mathias, like she belonged to him.
The way he had told her they needed to talk. The way Daxon had rushed us out.
I had no right to care. But the thought of Mathias with her….his mouth on hers, his hands on her….burned me alive.
Lyra’s voi
