POV: Ben Archer

Walking away from that gymnasium felt like tearing off a bandage that had been protecting wounds I'd thought were healed. Every step took me further from the magnetic pull of Bea's presence, but it also gave me space to process the emotional avalanche that had just hit me.

Cassio fell into step beside me as we headed back toward the dormitory buildings, his expression carefully neutral in the way that meant he was trying not to offer opinions about situations he didn't fully ...