“Sometimes things move faster than people are ready for,” she continues. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t want it. Maybe she just got spooked.”

“Exactly,” Sawyer agrees, his arm sliding around Violet’s waist. “I don’t know what happened with the dean today, or if there was fallout from that fight with Aaron, but I’d bet my entire contract that this isn’t about you. Something else is going on with her.”

I want to believe them. Fuck, I want to so badly. I can feel a dangerous spark of hope trying to ignite in my chest, and I’m afraid to let it catch. Because if I’m wrong—if Hannah really is done with me—the disappointment might destroy what little of me is left.

I clench my jaw as I glance around the room, taking in the sight of Sawyer with his arm around Violet and Jake absorbed in his game nearby. The three of them are so clearly a family unit, whole and complete.

Something twists in my chest, and I rush up to rub at the ache as if it’s a muscle strain that I could massage away.

Just a few hours ago, I was imagining a future like this with Hannah.

“Maybe,” I say, but the word tastes like ash in my mouth.

Because what if they’re wrong? What if Hannah really is done with me? The thought constricts my lungs, making it feel like the breath is being crushed out of me.

Because I have no idea how to fix this. And no idea how I’ll survive without her.

48. Hannah

Chapter 48

Hannah

I shiver involuntarily as I lie back on the cold slab of the MRI machine in nothing but a thin hospital gown while the technician gets me set up. She’s been incredibly sweet and friendly through the whole process, so logically I know I don’t have anything to worry about, but there’s something about being forced to lie completely still in this whirring magnetic tube that’s sending panic through my veins.

“We’re almost done,” the technician says with a smile as she hovers above me. Her name is Melissa—she introduced herself earlier with a warmth that made me feel slightly less terrified. She slides some sort of contraption down that forms a little halo around my head, and I close my eyes as it beeps and comes to life.

“Is it normal to be this scared?” I ask, hating how small my voice sounds.

“Completely normal,” Melissa reassures me. “Everyone gets nervous. The noise is the worst part, but we have something for that.”

The noise is unsettling enough, so the less of this I have to see, the better. But closing my eyes only intensifies my thoughts, and they’re the last company I want right now.