FALLING FOR MY BEST FRIEND'S FATHER
"Come to the beach this weekend. There's something I want to show you."
Emma opened her eyes. The hallway was empty and fluorescent and completely ordinary. She looked down at her coat pocket without thinking, the way she always did now.
"I'll be there, Saturday," she said without blinking.
On Saturday, she drove down alone, the same road she'd taken last June with Lily and a summer playlist and no idea what was waiting. The February coastline was a different creature entirely, stripped back, honest, the kind of beautiful that doesn't try. Grey water. Pale sky. The highway is empty in both directions.