Page 18 of Connor

But North? North lingered a second longer. His voice was low, steady, but there was an edge to it. "Why did you come here, Summer?"

I swallowed hard. "For school. Like everyone else."

He scoffed. "Bullshit."

I bristled. "You don’t get to say that."

Something flickered in his gaze—anger, maybe. "You really think you can just come back and pretend to be her friend?"

"I’m not pretending."

"Aren’t you?"

My pulse roared in my ears. The weight of everything—the guilt, the regret, the resentment—crushed down on me all at once.

I met his gaze, steady, unwavering. "No more than you are."

North’s eyes flicked over me once more, something sharp in his gaze, like he was still deciding what to do with me. He’d always had that intensity about him.

Then, without another word, he stepped back. I should have been grateful. That he didn’t say more. That he didn’t push. That he let me go.

But instead, all I felt was hollow.

The café was still loud, still bright, still buzzing with the kind of easy, careless energy that belonged to people who hadn’t ruined their own lives. A girl laughed somewhere behind me. Abarista called out a name that wasn’t mine. Someone brushed past me in line, and I flinched like I’d been burned.

I didn’t belong here.

My stomach twisted violently. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.

Inhaling, I steadied myself. And because I’d spent my whole life running, I did what I did best. I walked away.

Not fast. Not like I was fleeing. But with just enough distance that I wouldn’t have to see whatever expression was on North’s face. Whatever was left of Quinn’s interest.

I stepped out into the afternoon sunlight, the heat pressing against my skin, thick and suffocating. The campus stretched in front of me—students sprawled across the quad, leaning against trees, laughing, living. It all felt too loud. Too big. Like the edges of the world had blurred, like I was floating just outside of it, unable to slip back in.

Vic wasn’t going to be happy with me. I was supposed to go to class. I was supposed to try. Instead, I turned in the opposite direction.

My apartment was only a ten-minute walk away, but it felt longer. I kept my head down, kept my arms crossed over my stomach, kept my breath steady, even as something inside me clawed at my ribs. I told myself I was fine. That this was fine. That I just needed a second.

But by the time I reached my door, I knew better.

The second the lock clicked into place behind me, the weight of it all crashed down.

I pressed my back against the door, squeezing my eyes shut, my breath coming too fast, too uneven. My fingers trembled at my sides, and I curled them into fists, like I could keep myself from falling apart if I just held on tight enough.

It didn’t work.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I swallowed hard, forcing my breathing to slow before I reached for it. One new message. I didn’t know why I was scared to look, but a small part of me already knew it was Quinn.

My thumb hovered over the screen for half a second before I forced myself to check. Yeah, it was her.

I barely had time to register her name before my stomach lurched.

The phone slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the floor as I bolted for the bathroom.

I barely made it to the toilet before I dropped to my knees, my whole body shuddering as I emptied my stomach.

It wasn’t just the nausea. It was everything. Being alone, starting a new school, breaking up with Connor. I squeezed my eyes shut, bile burning the back of my throat. I shouldn’t have come here. I should’ve chosen another school. Quinn’s message only made that more fucking clear.

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