Willow released a breath she had not realized she had been holding and turned toward the doorway. The absence Victor left behind stretched through the room like a quiet shadow that had not yet faded. Each step she took felt strangely deliberate, almost self conscious, as if she were walking across a stage she had never agreed to stand on.
Even so, she kept moving.
The hallway felt different now. It seemed narrower than it had a few minutes earlier, the overhead light suddenly too bright where it spilled across the gift bags lined neatly along the wall. Her heart thudded high in her throat as she stopped in front of them.
The nearest bag was white with tiny silver stars scattered across its surface like a small constellation. Beside it stood another bag in pale pink with its tissue paper folded with careful precision. Someone had taken time arranging them, smoothing every crease and corner. The quiet neatness of it made something tighten unexpectedly in her chest.
