****************
CHAPTER 34
~Spring's POV~
My grip on the soda can tightened as I stared at Eva. Her hands were trembling slightly, shoulders drawn in. She looked like she was trying to disappear into her own skin.
And suddenly… I remembered.
That day behind the library wall.
Eva is on her knees. Her voice shaking as she pleaded for forgiveness, she didn't owe anyone with Madelyn and Liana watching her with contempt.
I remembered the slap. The kick. The way Eva had cried without making a sound, trying not to draw more attention.
And I remembered how something in me snapped then, how Jade surged forward. How my aura dropped like a hammer and made Madelyn kneel.
That was the first time Eva looked at me like I wasn't just someone passing through this school, but someone she could trust.
I looked at her now, and she wasn't the same scared girl—but that fear still clung to her in places no one else could see.
Without thinking, I reached across the table and took her hand.
