Chapter 16
Vanessa
Vanessa waited until they were out of sight before she let the smile drop.
It always hurt her face if she held it too long. People liked the smile. Professors. Council members. Nate’s teammates when they needed a favor. Emilia used to like it too, back when they were younger and Vanessa still bothered pretending they were the same kind of girl.
They weren’t.
Vanessa walked back across campus with Emilia’s notebook under her arm and the sound of Nate’s silence still in her ears. He hadn’t grabbed the notebook. He hadn’t looked at Emilia like he believed her either. That was enough for tonight. Enough to put a crack in whatever they thought they were building in trucks and hospital rooms and dark balconies.
She unlocked her apartment, kicked the door shut, and droppe
