Chapter 2 TWO

Morning came slowly, gray and dull. The kind of morning that didn't care whether you got out of bed or not.

Amara stared at the ceiling, her body still curled in the same position she'd fallen asleep in. The messages were still there on her phone, untouched. Her friends meant well, but their words couldn't stitch the tear inside her chest. Not today.

She sat up slowly, wincing at the tightness in her neck. Her body felt heavy, as though every limb carried the weight of the night before. She stood, walked over to the window, and pulled the curtain aside. The rain had stopped. The world looked clean. But she didn't feel that way.

Downstairs, the kitchen echoed with emptiness. The fridge buzzed. The coffee machine blinked, waiting. She poured water into it, measured out coffee grounds by habit, not desire. The scent filled the space quickly, warm and familiar, but even that couldn't comfort her today.

She sat by the kitchen table, phone in hand, staring at his name still saved in her favorites. She didn't delete it.

Not yet.

Her thumb hovered over it, heart pounding. She knew there would be no reply. But she typed anyway.

"Why did you leave?"

She hit send.

It was stupid. She knew it. But sometimes grief makes fools out of the strongest hearts.

A knock on the door broke the silence. Soft. Hesitant.

She stood, uncertain.

When she opened it, she wasn't prepared to see who was standing there.