Chapter 3

I crouched down, hugging my knees, as tears soaked the sand beneath me.

I remembered another evening like this when he had built a sandcastle on the beach. He had been so secretive, not letting me see it until it was finished.

He had covered my eyes with his hands and led me to the castle. With a dramatic flair, he had announced, "Ta-da! Miss Thompson, behold your future home! One day, I'll buy a house just like this castle and bring my princess home..."

But later, the sea washed away the castle, and he left me too...

Zoe returned with firewood and was startled to see me in such a state.

She quickly hugged me. "Sophia, what's wrong? Did those two jerks upset you?"

"I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!" she declared, ready to confront Jack and his new girl, who were making out in the distance.

I held her back. "No, Zoe, it's not because of them. I'm not feeling well. Can we go back to school?"

We got into a taxi back to campus. Zoe sat with me in the back seat. Knowing I didn't want to talk about it, she just held me close, gently rubbing my back.

It reminded me of how Ethan used to comfort me whenever I was sad...

I felt the warmth from her, and surprisingly, the pain in my heart began to ease.

Back at our dorm, Zoe gave me her large panda plushie to sleep with, saying it would help me sleep.

She meant well, so I couldn't refuse. I lay in bed, hugging the panda and staring at the ceiling.

I thought it would be another sleepless night, like so many before when I longed for Ethan. But somehow, I eventually fell into a deep sleep.