Always

Chapter Twenty-Six

Mia

The first weekend of freedom hits like a wave. Classes are done for the day, assignments are temporarily set aside, and I finally have a block of time to just… breathe. To think about everything that’s happened in the last month and everything that’s still to come.

I flop onto my dorm bed, phone in hand. Liam has been texting all morning, teasing me about how “serious” I look when I’m studying. I roll my eyes, smiling anyway.

Then I see it: a video call request. His name flashing across the screen. My stomach does that familiar flip. I answer immediately.

“Hey,” he says, grinning like he knows exactly the effect he has on me.

“Hey,” I reply, trying not to giggle.

For a while, we just talk. About nothing, about everything. About homework that’s too hard, about a funny girl in her