glowing back at her through

t back at

at had clung to her for days. A ragged gasp caught in her throat. Her fingers,

o sleep with swollen eyes, waking up pretending the pain was just part of her dream. But not t

best friend; she was her only friend. Her ride or die. Her childhood shadow. The girl who lived next door shared her lunch in second grade, helped her with her

she was the love of his life

most were laughing in her face. A

away. She was tired of being soft. Tired of being

r, colder, locked in

t back at

n her spine, and her fingers mo

es

ike it had already been typed, jus

. Mee

no display picture. Just a string of random numbers and a username that didn't seem familiar. And yet... the message didn't

f curiosity and fear t

. Who are you? A pause.

that curious

ling her deeper. She scrolled slowly through the quiet, thoughtful comments that he ha

t trying to." This comment was under a

ight... you deserve peace." This was

for attention. They were the kind that saw her, not the filtered, glamorous vers

quiet presence, like someone who had always been there in the shadows, watching and observing her. And then the realization hit her:

een taught. And yet, something about this felt different. Her instincts, that were usually

moving before her brain

's m

kly, as if he'd bee

her

" Zara typed,

ack instantly. "

he response she was expecting. This wasn't so

the next message came, as if he co

d, "Why should I? I don'

trust a stranger that much. That's why

ny right to lecture her on trust. On caution. It annoyed her, the nerve of it. But what unnerved her more... was how right he was.

ne. Vanelle Café. 10 AM

ied. The simplicity

helping me?

ith the username Leoington9

s seen you... even

twice. Who was this man? Her

nd Zara" "I want to meet

ine cut deeper than all the hateful comments online. Because it wasn't an insult. It was... the truth, the bitter