CALDER'S POV

I knocked like I had a real reason.

Three soft taps. My notebook hugged against my chest so hard the spiral binding dug into my skin. The hallway was dead quiet. Most students had cleared out twenty minutes ago. I told myself I was here for the essay. The one on unreliable narrators. The one I already knew was fine.

Professor Voss looked up from his desk. Dark hair, sleeves rolled, that same calm face that filled my headphones every night.

“Miss Calder. You’re still here.”

My throat tightened. “I wanted to talk about the essay. I’m not sure I got the point about the narrator’s—”

He stood....