The Version of me you loved

e her-loud, unfamiliar, alive in a way that felt almost hostile. Skyscrapers loomed, headlights flashed against damp paveme

sh start. A new v

tile, her breath sharp in her lungs. She had been waiting for this moment for *months*, bu

office of her new dorm. She had made sure of that-cleared out her inbox, deleted every old thread, blocked every number that could reach through time an

-

Doesn't K

mp from the misty drizzle coating the streets. The building was old, brick and ivy-covered, with h

like vanilla candles and paint thinner. Room 317. Inside, her new roommate was already sprawled across the

to call the authorities," she de

ost smile

k curls framed a sharp-featured face, eyes assessi

ied, closing the

. "You look like someone wh

rted. "No

didn't look

that. She pulled off her hoodie, revealing the black tank top beneath. The mirror across the room caught her reflection, and she barely recognized herself. She had cut her h

ng?" Elara hesitated. Then she shrugged. "

-

hings

curled across the front. She shouldn't have brought it. She should have burned it the first time she found it in the shoebox beneath her bed back home. B

ar

u'll let me say goodbye. But if you do-if you ever miss me the

e ever

you.

la

ed for the lighter she had stolen from Mia's desk. The flame flickered to life, warm against the cold a

ye, A

hing until every last piece was gone. Then

-

ge From

nightstand. She stirred, groggy, before reachin

d against her ribs, breath caught in her throat. She had blocked everyone. Hadn't she? Her fi

screen. She should go back to sleep. It was probably nothing. Probably. But

back and Atlas Calloway