(Sherry’s POV)
I had never imagined someone could wait that long just to talk to me.
But there Merlot was.
She leaned against a lamppost like she’d been planted there, her posture casual, her dress too bright for the dull evening, her big eyes lighting up the second she saw me. They sparkled with something sharp and determined, like she’d rehearsed this moment over and over.
My stomach dropped. Hard. Like a stone sinking straight to the bottom of a river.
Not again.
I turned on my heel and walked the other way, my pace quickening without me meaning to. My shoes clicked too loud against the pavement, each step echoing my panic and unwillingness. I could feel her gaze on my back, sticky and inescapable.
“Sherry!” Merlot called, cheerful and breathless as she hurried after me. “Wait!”
