Kyle threw his sports sack over his shoulder as he stepped through the school gate, heading towards where the buses were supposed to wait for them. He had passed through the cafe, hoping he would run into Gabriela and walk together to school, but Brenda had said he had already missed her by half an hour. That girl really got up early.
He hadn’t seen her since that day at the cafe and despite the fact that her responses to his messages had increased, those few days had felt like a month.
He could still remember vividly the way she clung to him, although unconsciously, and refused to let go. Her slender frame had felt so small and fragile, her fingers squeezing his shirt almost with desperation. When she had finally settled into a deep sleep, her face had relaxed for the first time since h
