LAUREN'S POV

“How did it go?” Tessa asked, her voice calm but laced with curiosity, her eyes still fixed on the open book in her hands. She sat casually on the couch, legs tucked beneath her, the afternoon sunlight falling gently on her face as though the whole world existed in the quiet comfort of this living room.

I dropped my bag on the nearby chair with a little more force than I intended, the exhaustion from the morning weighing on me like an extra layer of clothing I couldn’t peel ...