Charli

Walking away from Nox, I became acutely aware of everything around me: the slickness of the tile floor beneath my sandals, the contrasting scent of Bryce's cologne, and the burn of Nox's stare singeing my back. I fought the urge to turn around and explain why I owed Bryce minutes of my time, to make Nox see that this wasn't about him or about us. It was what I'd been raised to do and be, and I was about to end it all for good.

As we strode toward the small ...