MACEY 

By the time I hit the traffic light close to my place, my phone was vibrating nonstop. Notifications kept popping up one after the other until it sounded like a damn alarm. Texts, calls, mentions, news alerts—everything lighting up like the world had collectively decided to lose its mind. 

I hadn’t even made it home yet. 

I pulled over by the side of the road, my fingers trembling as I reached for my phone. For a second, I just stared at it. Part of me already knew what I was ...