~LAUREN~

He exhaled. A sharp, heavy breath that somehow felt like it sucked the air out of the entire room. His eyes locked with mine, but I wasn’t sure what I saw in them.

Anger? Regret? Maybe both. Maybe neither. Maybe something I couldn’t even name.

“Get ready,” he said. Just that. Two little words, like they weren’t going to tear me apart.

And then he was gone.

His door shut behind him with a dull thud, and the sound lingered in my chest.

I stood there, still, staring at nothing. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to move or breathe or scream, so I did none of those...