Jacob~
The ache never left. Not really.
It just... moved around.
It would hide behind my ribs when I distracted myself, or curl up inside my throat whenever I laughed at some beautiful memory of her. But that morning, it pressed like a weight straight against my chest—as if someone had cracked my bones and stuffed grief beneath them.
I was lying on the roof of an old chapel, surrounded by mist that I hadn't even summoned. I'd slipped out of my realm again, back to earth, drawn by some restless part of me that just wanted to exist in the same world she did, even if distance kept us apart. My fingers traced the familiar paths of my skin, a quiet plea to stop thinking about her—knowing I wouldn't.
I thought of her laugh. The way she used to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear when she was nervous. The way she used to say my name like it belonged to her.
But Easter didn't remember any of that now.
She didn't remember me.
And I had made sure of it.
