she were made of glass that was beginning to shatter.
I felt a cold knot of dread form in my stomach. I asked him what was wrong, my voice barely a whisper. He didn’t look at me; instead, he cleared his throat, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating the joy that had filled the room only moments before.
Then, he spoke the words that would haunt me forever. “I’m sorry, but… I can’t take her home,” he stammered. The room went still.
