Lena

The coffee shop on Fifth was busy at ten AM. Business people ordering complicated lattes, tourists photographing their pastries, the espresso machine screaming like it had grievances.

I sat in the corner booth and tried to look like a person who hadn't spent the last two days unraveling.

My phone sat face-down on the table. It had buzzed three times in the last ten minutes. I hadn't checked it. Checking meant seeing either silence from Julian or another message from Cassie, and I couldn't handle either option right now.

The door opened and Nate walked in, all easy confidence and that smile that made strangers want to trust him...