Wall

notic counterpoint to the turmoil in my heart. I couldn' t go home. Not yet. My parents would see the ravag

l," I told the driver, my voice hoar

easing his brow. "Are you sure,

I said, a lit

th of glass and steel that catered to the city' s elite. I paid

and the faint scent of lilies washed over me. I was just about

-in counter, stood

o the receptionist. He looked drunk, his usual sharp features softened by alcohol and f

checking i

elevators. They were laughing, their heads close together. As they waited, Holden lean

tor at a play I never wanted to see. The air in my lungs seemed to turn to ice

d some help?" A concerned-looking

Tears I hadn' t even realized I was holding back began to stream dow

m my throat. I pointed a trembling finger towards the elevator, where the

e glanced at the reception screen, then back at m

e, the naive belief that maybe, just maybe, he was just being a g

astering my hair to my face, but I barely felt the cold. I sank onto a stone planter by the curb

rain, a pathetic, sodden heap of misery, and I waited. I don't know what I

m inky black to a bruised purp

en I s

dress, but Holden had changed into a fresh shirt. He opened the passenger door of his car for her, then jogged a

nside me died, leaving n

r work. I collapsed onto my bed, the events of the last twenty-four hours playing on a relentless

rs left, and then I fell i

ows across the room. I reached for my phone, a sense of dread coiling in my stoma

ad been poste

art s

flowers. Our wildflowers. It was the secret meadow Holden and I had discovered on a h

here. He had given

that our spot? The words looked stark and pathetic on the screen. I d

I finally managed a s

ul. Hope you

ost instantly. I

ouldn' t mind me sharing our little s

to me under the summer sky in that very field, his voice sincere

ut to be a lot short

g again, a raw, guttural sound of pure agony. It felt

ents, but I was hollowed out. I spoke in monosyllables, the effort of

week," she said one evening, putting a comfort

unable to speak past

new girlfriend," she said gently, her voice full of understanding. And just like

d at a gourmet shop downtown. "I just can' t find it anywhere else, and you know how your father gets without his

he house, out of my self-imposed prison of

Mom," I

was heading back to my car when I saw them again. Holden and F

ide, but it was too late.

led out, a wide

d them, my feet feeling like

t-lipped smile, her ey

sked, my gaze fixed on Holden. He looked a little pale, h

ght. She clutched Holden' s arm tighter. "I' ve just been fe

washed over me. I didn' t want to

shy, triumphant smile playing on her lips. Sh

m pre