"His voice cut through the storm."
Silver watched Eli walk away until the snow swallowed him whole.
The storm had eased, but the world still sounded hollow. By the time she reached her dorm, the snow had stopped falling, though flakes still clung to her lashes. Her fingers were numb, her throat raw from crying, but she felt lighter than she had in weeks.
She dropped Eli's hockey jacket on the back of her desk chair and stood by the window. Outside, Old Campus glowed under the streetlights, the snow untouched except for one set of footprints trailing away into the dark. His footprints.
She should've gone to bed. Should've changed out of her damp jeans and tried to sleep. Instead, she stood there watching the white world blur through the glass, her pulse still uneven.
There were too many things she hadn't said.
Too many she didn't know how to say.
It was late, maybe past midnight, when she heard the knock.
Soft. Hesitant.
