The next day at school felt like walking through fog. Conversations floated around the classroom, stilted and incomplete, with Caitlin’s absence casting a hush over everyone. It was as if the entire building had conspired to erase her, each student carefully avoiding her name. Grace felt the weight of that silence settle on her shoulders as she dismissed her final class.
She lingered at her desk, deliberately ignoring the way her colleagues were probably gathering at The Spruce. She didn’t have the strength to plaster on a smile and pretend she didn’t notice the invisible wall between herself and the rest of the town. Tonight, she would hide in the safe monotony of grading essays and snacking on the protein bars stashed in her drawer.
She was just sinking into her chair when a quiet voic
