Madelyn
I did not sleep.
I lay on my side staring at the wall, listening to the faint hum of the air conditioner and the distant city sounds that usually comforted me. That morning they felt foreign, like I was already halfway gone. Every time I closed my eyes, Leana’s voice came back to me. Her certainty.
By the time the sky started to lighten, I knew one thing clearly. I could not keep waiting for Ava anymore.
Whatever plan she had promised me, whatever timeline she had given me, it was no longer enough. Things had moved too fast, and I was the one standing in the middle getting crushed. I pushed myself up from the bed quietly, my body heavy, my chest aching like I had been crying all night even though the tears had dried hours ago.
I went into the bathroom and splashed water on my
