The next few days passed in a blur for Rayla. She stuck to Zack like a shadow, barely leaving his side except when she absolutely had to—like when she had to go to class. Even then, she’d rush back to him as soon as she could, her heart pounding with worry every time she was away.
Zack’s injury had hit him hard—harder than Rayla had ever seen anything hit him before. The once vibrant, confident baseball player was now a shell of his former self. He barely spoke, barely ate, and spent most of his time staring blankly at the wall or scrolling through old photos and videos of his games. Rayla could see the darkness creeping in, the weight of his despair pressing down on him like a suffocating blanket.
She was terrified. Terrified that his depression would spiral out of control, that he’d ma
