chapter 9

I sat at the kitchen table after she left me, staring blankly at the cup of tea I’d made before I was lost in my thoughts but had no intention of drinking it again. The silence pressed in on me from all sides, the ticking of the clock on the wall growing louder with each passing second. Each tick felt like a reminder of how little time I had before Angela and Kurtis would inevitably reconnect. It was only a matter of time before I was pushed back into the shadows.

My thoughts were a tangled mess again. I knew Kurtis cared about me, we’d shared moments, brief but undeniable, but those moments were overshadowed by Angela. The thought of him choosing her over me made my stomach twist into painful knots. I wanted to believe that I meant something to him, that I was more than just a stand-in for her, but how could I be sure?

Just as I was about to drown in another wave of doubt, the door creaked open. My heart nearly stopped when I saw Kurtis walk into the kitchen. Is this me imagining thi