Eli stood there, frozen, watching Serena’s car drive away into the fading twilight. The roar of engines and the excited chatter from the crowd died down behind him, replaced by a deafening silence that settled into his chest. It was a moment that stretched far longer than it should have, his brain struggling to catch up with the reality that Serena was… gone.
Gone.
His hand still tingled where he had tried to reach for her, now cold with the absence of her warmth. She needed space—space from him. His mind reeled, replaying her words again and again: I need to figure some things out… it’s not you… But the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Something had shifted, something deep and significant, and it gnawed at him relentlessly. Why? Why had she suddenly pulled away when the
