REINA

After my chat with Tessa earlier, she had to rush to another class, so we didn’t get to hang out for long. I figured I’d use the free time to check out my new apartment—the one Paolo had just bought for me.

True to Calestino's words, it was just a few minutes walk away from school. The apartment was beautiful, I won’t lie. But it felt strange. Too big, too quiet, too… much. The kind of place that looked like it belonged in a magazine, not real life.

I walked around for a while, touching things carefully like they might break, and couldn’t shake off the guilt sitting in...