Harper
For three days, no anonymous messages arrived.
I still checked my phone every few minutes.
Every vibration made my stomach tighten. Every unfamiliar number sent a chill through me before turning out to be a delivery driver, the pharmacy, or someone trying to sell me insurance.
Claire had stopped.
The silence should have felt peaceful.
Instead, it left more room for Gavin’s letter.
I kept it inside the drawer beside my bed, folded along the lines he had made. I no longer read it every night.
Now I only opened the drawer to make sure it was still there.
That counted as progress.
I returned to class on Monday.
My professor allowed me to retake the exam I had missed, although the careful way she spoke told me someone had explained part of what happened.
Not the whole truth.
