Brandon's POV
The ride to school wasn't fun—at least not for me. Every minute dragged like torture. The silence was the kind that gnaws through your bones, heavy and unrelenting. I sat in the passenger seat beside Seth, eyes fixed on the window, watching trees blur past as if they were racing us. The air inside the car was thick, weighted with things unsaid, while guilt carved through me like a blade.
Behind me, Madison and Chloe sat pressed to opposite ends of the back seat. Madison scrolled lazily on her phone, earbuds dangling at her neck. Chloe, though—her face was buried in a book that looked more like a journal. The spine was bent, the pages worn soft at the edges.
But she wasn't really reading. Every so often, her eyes flicked up, pen tapping lightly against the paper, before she bent her head again, scribbling furiously.
