Elena's POV

School always felt heavier when we came back. The hallways were crowded, loud, the smell of pizza and body spray making my stomach twist. I kept my head down, shoulders tight, but I didn’t flinch. Not like before. Not since the week away.

Blake walked beside me, just close enough that I could feel him, a steady presence without touching, like he’d absorbed all the chaos around us and carried it in his silence.

I saw them before they saw me. Joey and Victoria, standing near ...