STELLA

It starts with a whisper.

I’m standing by my locker, spinning the dial for the third time because my brain refuses to cooperate. The numbers keep slipping. My body’s here, but my head is still somewhere back in the library, replaying yesterday.

Viktor’s breath on my cheek. His hand brushing mine. The look in his eyes before he pulled away like I’d burned him.

And then the way I laughed too loudly at something Nikolai said just to make sure Viktor heard it.

I feel ...