ALEX.
I stood by the window long after the sound of their footsteps faded, long after the car engine roared to life and disappeared down the driveway. The house felt emptier than it had any right to be, quiet in a way that pressed against my chest and made it hard to breathe.
They hadn’t even looked back.
I wanted to scream after them, to ask what I had done wrong, to demand an explanation for the sudden distance, the clipped responses, the way Niko’s eyes slid past me like I was furniture instead of someone he once held like he couldn’t let go.
But no words came.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Derek:
Are you sure you don’t want to come?
I stared at the message until the letters blurred. A part of me knew deep down that maybe I should have gone with Derek. It would have been easier an
