ng still clung to my suitcase, unpac

moon, a quiet extension of the

s in th

n the nightstand,

ge from

mped, a dull

ege girlfriend, the one hi

t look, I

harp and sudden, ma

ne. No passcode. He

ible, Alex. Worth the

t n

before o

shed out o

d, colors blurr

th her. Then h

e phone as i

el around his waist, humming, I was sitti

, Mrs. Harrison. Re

eak, couldn't

m? You okay? Y

aged

lur. I moved like an automa

, I stared out the window, the city

, chattered about our new

was a fr

y silence, m

ong? Seriously, y

head. How coul

filled with our plans, our thing

x was supposed to go

bye, a strange te

ght, Em. Figure out w

I got a call

ccident. A small one, a fender

an cold. "

bump on the head. But Emily

fus

to the

ere, hovering over Alex's bed,

at me, his b

e, blan

id, his voice flat

, a small, triumphant sm

arrison explained, her tone dripping with false sympathy

' d forgott

yes, the slight, almost imperceptible tightening of

s fak

settled cold and hard in my

out. His coward

dinator who planned every detail, had just bec

i

play a game, the