EMMA
The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, warm against my skin as I adjusted the tiny collar on Olivia's school uniform.
Her smile was wide, like way too wide for my anxious heart to settle. She bounced ahead of me, shoes squeaking against the marble floors, her hands flapping excitedly as she twirled around with the backpack I had gotten for her. Her first day of school.
I should've been excited. I should've been smiling just like her. But there was a knot in my stomach, a heavy, coiled thing that had been sitting there since last night. SinceNyx appeared.
"Do I look like the girls on TV?" Olivia asked, twirling once before stopping with her arms in the air like a ballerina.
I laughed under my breath, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You look like a superhero. A smart one. The kind who makes friends without even trying."
She beamed and skipped ahead toward the dining area.
