Elodie's POV
The moment Mila's arms wrapped around me, I almost broke. It had been a month since I'd seen her, but the second she pulled me into her hug, something inside me caved.
"Elodie!" she whispered like she'd been holding my name on her tongue for weeks.
I managed a faint smile, hugging her back tighter than I meant to. "Took you long enough."
But my voice cracked on the words.
We sank onto the couch, trying to fall back into that easy rhythm we'd always had, but nothing about me was easy anymore. My chest felt like it had been carved open, and no matter how much I tried to keep it together, grief had a way of leaking through the cracks.
She reached for my hand, her eyes clouded with guilt. "God, El… I'm so sorry about this mess. I should never have told him where you were. Wh
