Page 59 of North

I pushed off the couch, my body heavy, my muscles tight. I didn’t even know why I moved, why I followed the sound, why I needed to see.

But I did.

I stopped outside Evie’s room, my stomach twisting at the sight in front of me.

Evie was stuffing clothes into a duffel bag, her hands moving quickly, her face set in stone. Quinn stood near the bed, watching her, uncertain.

“What are you doing?” Quinn asked, her voice quieter than usual. Neither of them looked at me.

Evie didn’t stop packing. “I’m leaving.”

Quinn blinked. “What?”

Evie exhaled, zipping the bag shut. “I’ve got an apartment in town. I was planning on moving out after graduation anyway, but I’m not waiting anymore.” She glanced at Quinn, her voice softer now. “You’re welcome to join me.”

My chest ached at the offer, at the hesitancy in Quinn’s voice when she whispered, “Can I?”

I did that.

I was the reason she didn’t feel like she had a place here anymore.

Evie’s movements slowed. She looked at Quinn then, really looked at her, and nodded. “Of course, you can.”

Quinn didn’t hesitate after that. She started grabbing her things, moving around the room with quick, measured movements like she had already made up her mind.

Like she was already gone.

I didn’t realize how hard I was gripping the door frame until my knuckles turned white.

They were leaving.

Both of them.

And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

I forced myself to move, to turn away before they could see me, before Quinn could look at me with that same emptiness in her eyes.

I went back downstairs.

And I sat there.

Waiting.

Hours passed, or maybe it was minutes—I wasn’t sure anymore. My thoughts were tangled, my body heavy. I couldn’t stop thinking about that moment, about the way Quinn didn’t even hesitate when Evie gave her an escape.

I ruined everything.

The sound of the front door opening made my stomach drop. But it was just Dad and Lauren.

They stepped inside, their expressions tight, their clothes crisp like they had just come from a dinner or a meeting or something equally unimportant compared to the bomb that had just been dropped on this house.

Dad took one look at me and scowled. “What the fuck did you do?”

There it was. The side of him I had been trying to warn Quinn about. The over-controlling dictator side that always came out around me.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, Evie stepped into the room, her suitcase in hand.

And she was furious.

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