June

The rain starts soft like a warning, then quickly turns heavy, soaking through my dress in seconds. I stand there, frozen in front of the hotel building, my fingers trembling as I grip my phone.

Hours ago, I was on the floor, crying until my throat bled. I didn’t think I could even move after that. But then I read her words again—love, and love hard. That one sentence kept echoing in my head until I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

When I finally turned my phone on, it lit up like a ...