I stayed in my dorm for the rest of the day, letting the silence stretch on like a thin layer of ice. I couldn’t bear to fill it—not with music or calls or meaningless distractions. The ache in my chest was like a dull throb now, rhythmic and constant, and I allowed myself to sit in it, to pick apart my feelings and try to understand where they came from. The jealousy. The loneliness. The empty spaces between my breaths where Drew used to be, where Rhys felt too far away to reach. My phone stayed dark, its screen untouched on the counter, and I resisted the urge to check for any new messages. I wasn’t ready to face Rhys yet, to untangle the knot of emotions that tied me too tightly to him.
But as night fell, the stillness began to feel unbearable.
Outside, the city hummed in its usual lo
