ELLA

I watched him finally leave and exhaled a relieved sigh. He was finally out of here, and the repulsive feeling that had been growing inside me with every minute we spent together was slowly dissipating with each step he took, pushing him further away from me.

Now that he had gone, I could finally gather my thoughts and feel all the emotions rushing through me, instead of just anger and irritation. I hadn’t fully processed how I felt when I first realized it was him sitting next to me, but now I understood it was a mix of excitement and anxiety.

I wasn’t expecting him to be here, and...