Elena's POV

Nicole and I had been inseparable until high school graduation, when she moved with her family to Paris.

We kept in touch online for three years. But the thing about time differences was that they always made us miss those moments when we should shared things right away.

I didn't even tell her what I'd been through these past two terrible days.

When I logged in, I got some birthday greeting messages from past school mates and Nicole.

Since it was near 4 a.m. in Paris, I left a message to Nicole, hoping she'd hit me up when she awakened.

The next morning, after choking down breakfast under...