Ryan had stopped running now with every breath feeling like he inhaled dust. His eyes were stinging, but the shock was so cold that it felt like it had frozen the tears before they could fall.
Worst still was the emptiness he felt. His thoughts, his chest, his entire sense of self, everything felt like it had been scooped out of him... as if Adrian's words had drained him from inside out.
He had run until his legs burned, and now he was just walking a ghost back toward the lawn.
The majority of the students were still fully locked in the games and fun, some were seated swinging in drowsiness while a few swayed toward the guesthouse in tired groups, laughing and chattering away.
Ryan moved past them like a shadow, hands wiping his face and straightening his roughed-up clothes. He kept his eyes fixed to the ground, his shoulders hunched as though everyone could see the rejection written all over him.
