When Silence Grew Too Loud
The exam timetable sat on Bethany’s desk like a silent threat. She had stared at it so long that the bolded dates blurred together—Maths, Literature, Biology—each subject demanding more than she felt she had left to give. Her room was quiet except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan and the occasional rustle of pages as she flipped through her notes, highlighter dragging across sentences she’d already memorized but still didn’t trust herself to remember. She rubbed her temples, eyes burning. Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it. Evan. Her chest tightened. She hesitated. Not because she didn’t want to talk to him — she did — but because she couldn’t afford the distraction. Every time she spoke to him, the tightness in her chest softened. And she didn’t want soft right now. She wante
- Writer
