"Winter swallowed me whole."
Silver left the rink without a destination in mind. She just walked.
Snow fell like it had something to prove. Heavy, endless, muffling everything in sight.
By the time she reached the far side of campus, her lungs burned. Her coat was unzipped, her scarf forgotten somewhere behind her, and her hands were stiff from the cold. It didn't matter. She needed air. Space. Distance from everything.
The dining hall argument replayed in fragments. Americus's voice, sharp with worry and anger. Her own, shaking. Eli's quiet patience in the rink, his voice saying he'd wait like it was the easiest promise in the world.
She hated that he always said the right thing. Hated that she wanted him to mean it.
The snow crunched beneath her boots as she wandered toward the courtyard between the Old Campus gates. The lamplight hit the falling flakes just right, turning them into floating sparks. It should've been beautiful. It just made her feel smaller.
