Lynn

I sat in the polished, sterile office of Ms. Davies, the family

voice surprisingly steady, cons

belied a steel core, simply nodded. "Ash

rs, my terms had been Ashton's terms. Now, they

carefully neutral expression. "Are you sure, El

lean air after years of suffocating dust. "Free from him, fre

ut necessary. When I walked out of her office, the city air hit me with a clarity I hadn't felt in years.

ike a chariot of freedom. I found myself driving on autopilot,

, I would bring him his favorite obscure herbal tea and a specific type of artisanal bread f

e habit of invisibility already ingrained. I walked towards his room, my steps slow, almost reluctant. As

iseptic scent of the hospital mingling with

le. Her perfectly coiffed hair was slightly mussed, and her eyes were r

wailed, her voice thick with self-pity. "My whole

with a tenderness he hadn' t shown me in months. "It'

from him. "What if people think I'm weak? Wha

ty. "No one will think that. I promise you, Bailey. I'd sacrifice everything I have for

low, stealing the air from my lung

ard him say things like this before, in hushed tones, to investors, to rivals, always about her. But

al whisper. "You know, Ashton, it's always been you and me. That's why we're so good

mile that rarely reached his eyes whe

ead in the bag I was holding slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the linoleum

ed. Their faces, caught in the inti

concerned look on her face. "Elise!

nd, just looked annoyed

ked what happened. As if I had some

ured a little more. I looked at the bread, scattered on the

at, devoid of emotion. "Just d

floor. I walked away without looking back, the sound of Bailey' s

y. My phone buzzed in my pocket. A message from

rd your demo tape again. You're still a g

st emptiness inside me. A song. A new song. Not a "Song

lve hardening my spine. The old me, the one who brou

x was read