LILY WALKED.
She did not know where she was going. Her feet moved anyway, carrying her down the block and then another, the rhythm uneven, her steps too fast for how tired she suddenly felt.
Her throat ached with every swallow. It felt bruised, tender, as if the memory of pressure still lived there. Her hands shook at her sides, fingers curling and uncurling like they were looking for something to hold.
She kept walking.
Cars passed, headlights flashing across her vision. Somewhere a siren wailed, distant and unconcerned. The city did not notice her leaving. It never had.
She reached the corner and stopped, breath fogging in front of her. For a moment, panic surged, sudden and hot. She had never done this before. Not like this. She had never left without another person already waitin
