*Lily*

"Another night burning the midnight oil, huh?" Rachel's voice threaded through the silence of our dorm room, pulling me back from the precipice of self-pity.

My fingers fumbled through stacks of notes on genetic mutations, but each word seemed to blur into an indistinct hum, much like the ache throbbing through my skull.

It wasn't just the relentless study sessions for the upcoming exams that were to blame; it was Adrian's absence. No matter how ...