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Chapter 44

Author: REESE
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-21 23:50:46

JACQUELINE

The smell of tomato stew simmering on the stove filled the kitchen, a small comfort in a world that felt like it had turned upside down. I stirred the pot absently, barely registering the motion. The day had been long, and my mind still felt like it was wading through molasses. My body was home, but my head was everywhere else. My mind was on the things Nina had said, the hateful messages online, the look in Mr. Philips’ eyes when he’d held me in the parking lot.

And then at yesterday's class, when I had told him about Blair’s sister, he'd shown zero empathy. For a moment, when he had held me at the parking lot, I had thought that his stoicism was merely an armor, that beneath that coldness was a heart.

But his words yesterday had shown that there wasn't. He was unfeeling. Unkind and cruel. And I was going to do everything I could to help Blair. I would never wait until I graduate college to try to help people.

My phone buzzed on the counter.

I wiped my hand on a kitchen
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