"Silence is the worst noise."
Silver stood outside Eli's dorm building, staring up at the third-floor windows. One of them was his. She couldn't remember which one.
Her phone buzzed. Eli: You coming up?
She'd been standing here for five minutes. Maybe longer. Time felt strange.
Silver: yeah. sorry.
She pushed through the heavy door into the lobby. It smelled like old carpet and boy—that specific combination of cologne, sweat, and microwaved pizza that seemed universal to male dorms. A few guys she didn't recognize nodded at her as she passed. One of them did a double-take.
Great. Even here, people recognized her. The fallen figure skater. The girl from the screenshots.
She took the stairs instead of the elevator. Needed the extra minute. Needed to organize her thoughts into something coherent instead of the mess of accusations and questions spiraling through her head.
Third floor. Down the hall. Room 312.
She knocked.
