Aiden's Point of View
I start to stir awake, but something feels off. My bed, usually warm and familiar, feels cold. Empty.
That sensation spreads from my skin inward, sinking into my chest like a hollow weight. I shake my head, trying to push the feeling away, but it lingers. A deep, unsettling emptiness.
With a sigh, I throw off the blankets and get out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom. I twist the taps, letting the water run hot, steam curling up around me as I step into the shower. The heat scalds my skin, but it does nothing to chase away the chill that’s settled inside me.
I scrub harder, as if I can force the feeling away, but it clings to me.
When I close my eyes, expecting to be haunted by the memory of Hazel, the rejection, the finality of it, I’m instead met with a
