Lila

I stayed in my room with my face still pressed into the pillow, the fabric damp from tears and my own ragged breaths. Why did I do that? Kiss Jerry? It had felt like the only thing I could do in that moment — a desperate move to prove something to Ryder. To prove I was fine. That I didn’t need him. That I could move on.

But now, lying here alone, it just felt wrong. Empty. Like I’d used Jerry to hurt someone else, and the guilt sat heavy in my chest.

“Lila?” Jerry’s voice called from downstairs.

I froze. Hasn’t he left? What was he still doing...