Like it’s decided. Like she’s decided.
My chest squeezes. I nod once. “Okay.”
Footsteps again, heavier this time.
Ethan appears first, his face sharp with anger he has nowhere to put.
Emma is behind him, eyes wet, hand still covering her mouth like she can’t believe what she witnessed.
Ellie comes last, her hand hovering near Sarah’s elbow like she’s ready to steady her.
Ethan’s gaze meets mine. “You okay?”
No. I’m not. But I’m not going to say that out loud in a hallway where the walls can carry sound.
“I will be,” I say.
Emma’s voice is small. “Sarah…”
Sarah turns to her, and her face changes in a way that twists something in my chest. She’s gentle with Emma in a way she’s rarely gentle with anyone else.
“I’m okay,” Sarah says.
Emma shakes her head. “You’re not.”
Sarah’s lips press together, and for a second I think she might break right here. Then she inhales, slow and controlled, and her eyes flick to me.
I understand.
She’s holding it together because I’m holding it together.
And that makes my throat burn.
“Can you cover?” Sarah asks Ellie, voice steady. “Just… tell whoever needs to be told that we left.”
Ellie nods immediately. “Go. I’ve got it.”
Ethan’s jaw tightens. “You didn’t deserve that.”
“Don’t,” Sarah says, sharp enough to stop him mid-sentence.
Ethan exhales hard through his nose, frustration shaking him.
Emma reaches out, squeezes Sarah’s hand, then looks at me, eyes pleading.
“Take care of her,” she whispers.
I nod once. Because I will. Even if I don’t know what that looks like yet. Sarah and I move down the corridor together. We don’t hold hands. We don’t touch. But we walk in sync, like our bodies know what to do even if our minds don’t.
When we step outside, the cold hits us like a slap.
The valet line is still moving. People are still arriving, laughing, stepping out of cars in glitter and confidence, unaware of what just detonated inside.
It’s surreal.
Sarah’s breath catches beside me, and for the first time she trembles.
Just once.
