Clara's POV 

The bus pulled away in a cloud of dust, leaving me standing in the driveway with my duffel bag slung over one shoulder and the summer sun beating down on my back. 

I was twenty, still reeling from the screaming match with my parents that had ended with me storming out for good, and now I was here—crashing at my best friend Mia’s house until I figured out what came next. Mia was away at some summer program, but her dad had said it was fine, that the guest room was always open.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the front door, ringing the bell...