Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Bella

Lleft Darrell’s office and kept walking-fast at first, then slower as the hailway stretched on. My legs felt heavy, like they were moving through water. Every step echoed in my chest, right where that strange, squeezing ache lived now. I pressed my palm against my sternum again and squeezed hard like I could force the feeling back down into whatever hole it had crawled out of

What was this? I’d told myself a hundred times it was just guilt. Just shame. Just the aftermath of using my body to survive But it didn’t feel like guilt anymore. It felt… tender. Raw. Like something had been torn loose inside me and I couldn’t find he edges to stitch it back together.

I pictured him standing behind his desk; the way his shoulders had dropped when I said we were done, and the quiet crack n his voice when he asked if I felt anything. I hated that I noticed. I hated that I cared enough to notice. I hated that part of ne-small and stupid and scared-wanted to turn around, walk back in, and let him hold me until the ache stopped

urting.

stopped in the middle of the quad, leaned against the low brick wall near the fountain, and closed my eyes. The water rickled behind me, soft and steady. Students laughed somewhere nearby. Life kept moving. And I stood there feeling like I was breaking apart in slow motion.