Evaline:
Another Saturday. Another day at the Council headquarters.
By now, I thought I would be used to this routine - waking up early on weekend while the rest of the dorm was still sleeping, stepping out in early morning's biting cold, mentally checking off to-do list before the day even began. But this morning felt different, and I knew exactly why.
River.
The entire time - from doing my morning exercises to walking through the grand glass doors of HQ - I had been mentally preparing myself to face him again after what felt like forever. Rehearsing how I would keep my expression neutral, how I would sit at my desk and pretend his presence didn't matter to me, how I would survive the weight of his eyes on me if he decided to look.
But what I didn't prepare for… was not seeing him at all.
"River's not in yet," the front desk lady had casually mentioned when I arrived. And when I asked, she said he wouldn't be coming at all today.
