The Weight of Staying
Her smile returned before she could stop it, tugging at the corners of her mouth like a secret she didn't want to share too soon.
"Actually, I have news," Laura said, her voice quivering with the weight of what she was about to reveal, every syllable charged with nervous anticipation.
"Yeah?" His tone sharpened, curiosity flickering beneath the practiced calm, as if he could sense the shift from routine to something larger.
"I got in." Laura let the words hang in the air, her pulse thumping in her ears, heart racing as if the truth of it might dissolve if she spoke too quickly.
Silence fell, thick and charged, stretching between them across the miles, heavy with all the meanings and memories