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“I'm… the only… guilty one.” Her voice came out breathless and painful. “I'm… sorry…”

Troian walked over to the bed and placed the mask back on Em's face.

“We just don't want to lose you, Em…” Troian declared the most innocent and vulnerable of truths.

A few tears ran down Emily's green eyes as Troian ran her fingers through her blonde locks.

“We can’t lose you, Emily… please…” I finally said. “I can’t bury another person because of bad choices.”

My tears flooded my face, and the blonde reached out her hand to me. I approached her, hugging her as best I could. I was angry and scared in equal parts. It was like going back in time, but this time I hoped, from the bottom of my heart, for a better ending.

On none of the other nights was the cold so present. It was as if the weather had driven us off the streets, forcing everyone to stay in their rooms, locked up.

Veronica was sleeping peacefully in my bed, something she hadn't been able to do last night. Her restless sleep and insomnia had caught my attention a few times during the night, so it was nice to see her resting. I knew part of it was due to exhaustion, her simply shutting down because her body and mind couldn't take it anymore. However, it was so nice to watch her sleeping there.

I was sitting at my desk with my laptop open in front of me, finishing up an Econ 101 assignment. I knew I would get hungry soon and needed to get something to eat, but I wanted to finish my chores first. So I spent the next hour burying my face in texts and reports. When I finally finished my assignment, it was already 9 p.m.

I lowered the screen of the device and turned in the chair, looking at Veronica still sleeping.

I put on an extra coat and went out into the living room, finding Sidney with Jaz and Troian.

Troian and Veronica's room was still blocked off and covered in county police tape, but from what I heard from the uniformed people who had gone to the dorm that afternoon, the space would be cleared within 24 hours for the girls to return.

“Hey, I'm going to get food. Do you guys want anything?”

Jazmine, as always, offered me a warm and kind smile.

“No, we already ate.”

“We didn't want to call you and Roni because we thought you would be sleeping.” Sid completed.

“Oh, it's okay. She's really sleeping, I was doing work, but it's okay.” I put my hand in my sweatshirt pocket and went out into the hallway.

I got the food I wanted from the vending machine in the lobby. Luckily, they had installed a new soup machine there, so you put the mixture in a cup and add hot water on top. It wasn't the best meal in the world, but it was enough.

I went back to my room and this time I found my girlfriend awake. She was leaning against the door frame of my room, laughing at something someone had said. As soon as I walked in, her eyes met mine and her smile was directed at me.

“Let me help you…” Roni came to me and took the soup cups. “Shall we eat in the bedroom?”

I just nodded and she went ahead.

“Good night, girls…” Sid commented.

“Good night, Sid. Good night, Jaz. Good night, Troian.” I replied, making them laugh.

I closed the bedroom door behind me and left the bag with some sweets on the desk.

Veronica snuggled back under the covers while the soups sat on the bedside table. She was quiet and I understood why she was in shock after everything that had happened in the last few hours, but her anxiety also seemed exaggerated. And all of this left me with questions that I was afraid to ask and hurt her feelings.

I sat up in bed and put my legs under the covers too, leaving my back pressed against the headboard.

“Did you get any rest?”

Her head lolled to the side.

“Yeah, I rested a little…”

“That’s good.”