HAYDEN

There was something about seeing her smile that made everything else feel inconsequential.

Even now, a few days later, I could still picture the exact way her lips curled at the corners, soft and hesitant like she wasn’t sure if she had permission to be happy. And that laugh, the one she let slip when I made some lame comment about how much of a bookworm she was, that one had rewired something in me. Something that made me feel very hopeful and I was holding onto that for as long as ...