The music was too loud for thoughts to stay still. It pulsed through the walls, through the floor, through her chest…laughter and shouting blending into something wild and endless. Everywhere she turned, people were celebrating him. Calling his name. Dragging him into pictures. Pressing drinks into his hands like he was something to be shared.

He had graduated that morning.

And somehow… she was here.

She hadn’t even planned to come. The invitation still felt unreal, sitting in her messages like something sent to the wrong person.

You should come tonight.

No explanation. No emojis. Just him.

She lingered near the edge of the room now, fingers curled around a...