“Boba tea’s here. Let’s head in,” Hayden said, bncing the fruit in his hands.


    He didn’t ask about Wade, but I knew he probably saw everything. I wasn’t in the mood to exin,


    so I just followed him inside.


    Yuna’s voice lit up as soon as I walked in. “Keira! I waited for you to get here before drinking mine!”


    Hayden set the fruit down in the kitchen. I nced at him before walking over to Yuna.


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    “I’ve got everything ready!” she said, motioning to the drinks lined up on the table, her eyes


    sparkling.


    But I couldn’t even think about drinking anything. “You can have mine,” I said, my heart still heavy.


    “Really?” Yuna’s eyes sparkled, and sheughed. “I’m not that greedy.”


    Even so, she started splitting the drinks. “Why’d it take you so long? Hayden was worried. As soon


    as he dropped off the groceries, he went looking for you.”


    “I ran into a friend,” I said, half–truthfully.


    “You’ve got so many friends. I hope I can make more someday,” Yuna said, sliding a boba toward


    me.


    “You will, Yuna. You’ve got such a great personality,” I said, trying to smile as I took a sip.


    She was already sipping her own. “This vor’s so good! There are so many I wanna try…‘


    “Keira?” She waved her hand in front of my face. “You okay? You look kinda out of it.”


    Before I could answer, she called out, “Hayden,e check on Keira!”


    Hayden appeared with a te of cherries and strawberries. “What’s wrong?” he asked, pressing his


    cool hand to my forehead.


    His hand was still damp from washing the fruit, and the touch was calming. “I’m fine,” I said, pulling


    him to


    sit next to me.


    Not caring that Xuna was watching, I leaned into Hayden’s shoulder. “I went to see Narelle–Wade’s


    advisor.”


    I didn’t need to exin more; Hayden already knew the story.


    “Did something happen?” he asked softly.


    I cuddled closer to him, letting his calm energy ground me. “Narelle’s about to be let go. Wade’s a


    wreck,


    and I feel awful too.”


    No one deserves to be abandoned, but holding on for Narelle didn’t seem to make sense anymore.


    Hayden didn’t say anything, just rubbed his cheek against my head in quiet support.


    “We all need to be okay,” I whispered, gripping his arm tighter. I nced at Yuna.


    She sat quietly, her boba tea forgotten. I reached out for her hand, and she took it, squeezing


    gently.


    “Keira, what’s wrong with Narelle?” Yuna asked.


    “She’s been sick for a while. She hasn’t woken up,” Hayden answered, his voice soft, trying not to


    overwhelm her.


    But Yuna was sharper than that.


    “Is she in aa?” Yuna asked, her voice serious.


    Hayden gave a quiet “Mm.”


    Yuna scooted closer, holding both our hands. “There’s something I need to tell you.”


    Her sudden shift in mood made Hayden and me exchange a nce. She was usually so yful, so


    seeing her like this made us both worry.


    I sat up, ready to hear what she had to say.