It was several minutes after the door had clicked shut behind Ethan, and even as silence pressed down on the room like a heavy blanket, I felt very restless as if I had been chased by a fox.
For a while, I just stood there, staring at the wood, half expecting him to come back and say he didn’t mean any of it. That he hadn’t just sliced me open with his words. But the handle stayed still.
I dragged a hand down my face and began pacing across the dorm floor, the rough edge of the rug brushing against my bare feet with every turn. The words kept replaying in my head, sharper each time.
Had Ryans been called to a disciplinary meeting and I didn’t know?
When? Before he came to spend the day with me? Or after?
And why didn’t he tell me?
Did he think I couldn’t handle it? Or worse—did he t
