Page 169 of Every Shade of Shadow

I head back inside and find my cell sitting neatly on my bed beside my duffle. It’s even charged.

I briefly spot what must be hundreds of missed texts and calls, but I can’t bring myself to go through them right now.

I go to call Sab, but stop, deciding to text instead.

It’s me. I know you must have a million questions. Meet me at the diner at 12?

I turn the phone off before the inevitable missed calls and flood of texts follow. It’s a strange thing, uncharacteristic perhaps to shut out your best friend, but I’ve got ease back into life.

The closer it gets to twelve, though, the more nervous I become. Sab’s a sweetheart, the best friend you could hope for. It’s just that I’ve got no idea where to begin with any of this. And Lily and Ava…it feels like I’ve been cheating on her in a way, stupid as that seems.

Since I left New York, my life has been turned upside down. I catch my reflection in the mirror on the wall and remind myself to breathe.

It’s Sab, I reason. She’ll understand.

*

I step into the diner, the little bell chiming over the door just like I remember. The strong scent of coffee—wonderful, heavenly coffee—laces the air, a waitress brushing past me with an empty tray over her head. And actual decent food. How I’ve missed this.

Something crashes into me from the side, arms right around my torso.

It’s Sabrina. She steps back, still holding me, eyes wide. “Holy shit. It really is you.”

Her eyes are wet, which only makes me feel infinitely more terrible.

She drags me towards our usual table. “Come on. I’ve already ordered.”

I take a seat and can barely look her in the eye, not after abandoning my whole life without as much as a warning.

I finally get the strength to bring my head up. “Are you mad at me?”

There’s a second where I’m unsure what her reaction is going to be. She nods. “Worried, at first, and then mad, but now? Honestly, I’m just happy to see you.”

“You have every right to be angry,” I tell her. “I can’t apologize enough, but I had to go.”

“To Lumina, right? Or have you been busy sailing the Greek Isles with a sun-kissed boytoy?”

I give a short laugh. “I wish.”

Her gaze turns inquisitive. “But you’re back, which means…”

I exhale, long and hard. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“I thought you were dead, you know. A few more weeks and I would have thrown you a funeral.”

“Oh, Sab…Jesus.”

She wipes at her eyes, fingers fluttering in front of her face like she always does when she’s trying not to cry. “But you’re okay, aren’t you?”

“I’m okay,” I nod back, doing my best not to join her in Cryfest 2024. “But if I had to start somewhere, I guess it’s the ball, the invitation.”

“The guy in the wolf mask.”

“Right. He’s a professor, actually.”

“Oh? A professor of love?” she teases.

I do my best to smile back. “In a way.”

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