Chapter 98. Time

Lila’s POV

Three months. Three months since the hospital stay, three months since Maeve’s weird magic, and three months since I was given the beautiful, terrifying present of time. High school graduation when I walked into the gym was nothing but bizarre. The air was no longer thick with fear, judgment, and shame — it was humming with anxious anticipation and the smell of cheap polyester gown.

My old life was like a bad movie. I finally managed to turn it off. The whispers are gone. Madison, her brother Mark, and her whole family moved on to a private school after the video debacle, and the toxic ‘Wolves’ community had utterly collapsed now without their leadership and Ryder’s to stir things up. But when people were talking after, the best change was the way people looked at me. It wasn’t a pity. It was a relief. When I made my way through the crowd to get in line, everyone was smiling. Leah grabbed me in a fierce, teary hug that almost suffocated me under my cap.