First message
Everything seemed to hang suspended in the quiet room, rain streaking the windows outside. Seeing Frankie so small and brave, shoulders tensed like she was waiting for something to break, left Callie completely lost for words. Her mind spun—shock melting fast into something warm that had been there all along, unacknowledged. She’d grown so used to Frankie being the safest, brightest part of every day that she’d never stopped to question why.
Seconds dragged on, and Frankie started to shrink back. That was when the right words finally came, soft but sure.
“I was so scared I was the only one feeling this way,” she said gently, reaching out to brush her thumb over Frankie’s trembling hand. “I don’t have all the perfect answers right now… but I know I don’t want things to go back to how they were. Not when they could be so much more.”