**POV: Harper**

Kate met up with me at a coffee shop, and I narrated my ordeal to her, earning her sympathy as she hugged me tightly, reassuring me that everything would be okay. She held me for a long time, rubbing my back in a circular motion as I cried in her arms. This was just what I needed; I needed to be reminded that there was still light somewhere amid this darkness.

At the coffee shop, I could unburden my heart to my friend, feeling the warmth of her embrace as I cried freely. It was a slow release, the pain ebbing only slightly, but inside, I held onto...