STANLEY'S POV

The door crashed shut behind me like a verdict.

The chill of the air on my face was nothing compared to the ice in the bottom of my chest. Her voice lingered in my mind, sharp and hollowed, full of betrayal. Her last words still hung with a weight I had not expected to carry this night.

I didn't rush. There was no place to rush to. The streets were vacant, the world too still, too quiet for the turmoil in my ribcage. With each step I made, something else relived what just ...