I Am Honored

I didn’t stop at James’ open door, but I didn’t try to be particularly quiet, either. I fell onto my bed, kicked off my boots, and crawled under the covers. I shivered beneath them until I finally gave in to sleep and a nighttime of dark dreams.

The next morning, I left before James came out of his room. Before yoga. Before coffee.

I drove to school in silence, even though all I wanted to do was spread my wings and fly - anywhere and everywhere, as long as it was away. And yet, school is where I ended up. Only two cars were parked in the school lot - the dean’s and one I didn’t recognize. I parked far from either of them, and shut the engine off.