HAYDEN’S POV:The party was loud, too loud.Music thumped through the walls, bass vibrating under my feet as bodies moved, laughed, shouted over each other. The house was packed with people spilling into every corner, drinks in hand, the kind of chaos I used to thrive in.Now, I stood near the edge of the living room, half-leaning against the wall, staring at nothing in particular while everything blurred together.Stephen should’ve been here.The thought came uninvited, sharp and persistent.He would’ve hated this—too many people, too much noise but he would’ve stayed anyway. Probably stood off to the side like I was doing now, arms crossed, watching everything with that quiet intensity of his.And I would’ve been right next to him.Instead, I was here alone.I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through my hair. This wasn’t what I wanted.All I wanted was to be back in bed, in the quiet, where things felt simpler. Where I didn’t have to think so hard about every word, every look, every
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