Morning light crept through the curtains, pale and unforgiving. Raine blinked awake slowly, his body heavy like it had been filled with wet sand overnight. His eyes felt gritty, his throat raw from all the crying. For a second, he forgot. Then it all rushed back, Daniel’s distant face on the TV, the ring on Betty’s finger, the way his own legs had given out.

He turned his head. Cole was still there, sprawled in the armchair he’d dragged next to the bed, one leg dangling over the side. His best friend looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, but he was awake, scrolling through his phone with the volume...