Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Murray slammed on the gas and took off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Leda was fuming on the sidewalk, cursing at the top of her lungs. "What kind of jerk does that? A total scumbag! Absolute trash! He's driving me insane!"

Grabbing the young guy by the collar, who was as innocent as a puppy caught in the rain, she vented, "Listen here. Anne is never going back to him! Never!" Trying to play peacemaker, the young guy nodded frantically, "Yeah, yeah, don't get worked up."

But was that even possible? The confidence Murray exuded seemed unshakable.

Stealing a glance at Leda, the young guy wished Leda could trust men as unconditionally as her friend did. Stop right there! He wouldn't dare even dream of it.

...

Meanwhile, Murray answered a call in his car, his tone icy because of his bad mood. "What's up?"

"Hey, babe, I found this amazing place that serves the juiciest crab. Tomorrow's Saturday. Let's go check it out, shall we?" Millie's bubbly voice came through the phone. She knew Murray's love for seafood and was playing to his tastes.

They hadn't been in touch since the previous night, and her anxiety was getting the better of her, pushing her to make the call without a second thought.

dates, and all she had to

things had changed recently. Murray's attempts to reach out had dwindled, his texts brief, sometimes

moment. "Saturday? I'm tied up. No

Sunday works, too..." Millie's grip on her phone tightened, her lips

Let's leave it at that."

again. She thought, 'No, I can't give

...

low, Owen and Roseanne bid farewell to

in her voice. "Why

"Can't, I

"We'll

and don't be strangers," Madeleine replied, her

eagerly, Roseanne responded,

way, there are some papers and three

through a paper intended for SCI submission before graduation, and her professors had kept everything for her.

forget your lunchbox on the table. I've cleaned it for