Chapter 42

Lauren's POV

I sat there, staring blankly at the dinner right in front of me. It had been twenty-four hours since I lost Elena, yet somehow, her memory clung to me like a second skin I couldn’t peel off. The food looked warm and inviting, but to me, it might as well have been ashes.

Tessa’s voice floated around me, sometimes faint, sometimes sharp enough to pierce through the heavy fog that wrapped itself around my mind. She was scolding me again, just like she always did whenever I lost myself too deeply in grief.

“I swear, Lauren, do you want to starve yourself to death?” she snapped, her tone carrying both frustration and worry.

It was the word death that finally pulled me back, made me lift my eyes from the untouched food. Death felt so close now, almost like an old friend beckoning me. My only joy had gone there why couldn’t I follow?

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. My chest felt hollow, and the heaviness in my heart