Naeva Quinn

As long as the day felt, it finally bled to an end. The last bell echoed through the rooms, and students flooded out into the snow-slicked streets, desperate to escape. I wasn't desperate, I just needed to leave. And fortunately, I hadn’t seen Malik anywhere since the morning he left. His absence felt like a quick gift, like the air you breathe after drowning.

I dragged myself past the school gates, stomping my boots into the dense snow. The cold wind was biting against my face, ...