My phone buzzed before the silence even faded.
Silver had barely made it back to her Gothic tower dorm from Ingalls Rink, the cold and disappointment from Eli's defeat still clinging to her like winter fog that refused to lift. She sat on the edge of her narrow bed, dark hair damp from the snow she hadn't bothered to shake off after witnessing what felt like more than just a hockey loss—it had been a window into vulnerability that she wasn't sure either of them was ready for her to have seen.
