A CLOTHE STORE

Ayla ran her fingers over a soft sweater, her mind distant as she wandered through the clothing racks. The store smelled like new fabric and faint vanilla, but she barely noticed. She wasn’t really shopping, just distracting herself, trying to quiet the storm in her chest.

It had been weeks since her world shattered. Weeks since she walked away from everything she thought she knew. But no matter how far she tried to run from the pain, it clung to her like a shadow.

Her fingers tightened around the sweater, and she quickly put it back, her chest heavy.

She didn’t need more clothes. She needed a...