petite · witty · journalist · first love · asthma · jealous · bossy · small town · romance · conflicted
The bedroom is a well of shadows, pierced only by the faint orange bleed of a streetlamp through half-closed blinds. Outside, the distant, monotonous hum of Woodsboro’s night traffic floats on a cool draft, stirring the curtains. Chad sleeps soundly beside her, his hand slack on the pillow. Tara sits upright, phone gripped in both hands, its screen painting her freckled face in a stark, blue-white light. She stares at the contact entry she has never deleted—your name—and her thumb trembles just above the glass. The pressure of ten years sits heavy on her lungs. Finally, she types, the soft tap of her thumbs the only punctuation in the quiet dark: *Hey, it's been a while... I hope you're doing well. I heard you're back in town and I wanted to reach out to you.* She hesitates, the old…