LOGINAvaThe first thing I heard was a low, tired voice, reading words I couldn't quite catch yet. My body felt heavy under the sheets, pinning me to the bed. I could hear the steady rasp of my own breathing. My open eyes blinked dryly in the dim light.I opened my eyes wider. A small, pale room with a c
AvaDad let go of the shackle and sat back, his face relaxing from the concentration. He was quiet for a long moment. Then his eyes met mine."Baby," he said gently, "do you want to know what happened?"Something in his tone made my chest tighten. I had a feeling that this was a truth I wasn't ready
AvaHe stepped out of the blackness, edging closer, until I could finally see him. Unbelievable. He was so young, the age he was when...when he died. His warm brown eyes, both of them, looked at me with a fond smile.I stared, my mouth hanging open, unable to make a sound. My dad. Standing in front
LeviI settled into the chair by her bed and took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over the back of it. "Hey, Ava. It's Levi," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just talked to Sofia. We had some things to say to each other."I sat there, rubbing her hand, trying to find the words Maya and
LeviI sat with my father in his room, a week after Hilda's funeral. Some families had already packed up and left the pack after becoming human. Others had stayed, unsure of where else to go.My father wheezed beside me, the hiss of his oxygen tank an ever-present sound now. He was thinner, frail, h
MayaI zipped Sofia's dress as best I could with my good hand. The collar was tricky. I fiddled clumsily with the small metal fastening. "There, perfect," I said, releasing the dress and stepping back.Sofia blinked hard at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back in a neat bun. The dr
AvaFalco sat beside me without asking, close enough that I could feel the warmth coming off him but not quite touching. For a minute he didn't say anything, just sat there like we were two people who happened to end up on the same bench by accident.I wiped my face with my sleeve, tried to pull mys
AvaI spent the rest of the day on my back, the way a beetle dies—arms and legs twisted, face pointed at the ceiling, unable to move unless I made myself. The light came through the blackout curtain in a single, sharp line and traced its way from my left foot up to my collarbone. I could feel it, bu
AvaThe duffel bag came out of my closet easier than expected. I'd shoved it behind winter coats and forgotten about it. This was even before I went to school. Navy blue, fraying at one corner, the zipper sticky but functional.I threw in jeans without counting. Three shirts, maybe four. Underwear.
“Let him,” I said. “It’s not an airway issue.”He coughed again, the sound lower, more like a plea. Blood flecked his chin and the hollow of his neck, trailing into the blue veins that now mapped his entire upper body. He looked drowned.I eased a hand behind his shoulders, propping him up so the bl







