We moved through the crowd like a current — Rachel flanking one side, Nasir and Nia shadowing the other, their presence a silent shield. Camera flashes still popped, but no one dared step too close. Not after what they’d just seen.
I wasn’t running, I was leaving, leaving the stage. Leaving the story they wanted to write for me. Leaving him standing in a corridor full of shattered truth.
For once, I didn’t know if I was running from something or toward something I finally owed myself.
“Imani.” That ghost of a voice, I closed my eyes for half a second and cursed the universe. No, No, I didn’t stop. Not for him. Not anymore.
“Imani, wait—just—”
“No.” I didn’t look at him. “You don’t get to talk to me. The only thing he did right was keep you away from my door.”
My tone was flat. Sanded
