Chapter 51

ALBERT'S P. O. V.

A month ago, when I decided to leave Bluefield, I was consumed by a sadness so deep that I thought I'd never find my way back up. The weight of everything that had happened bore down on me, crushing my spirit until all I could see was darkness. My parents' rejection and Julian's cruelty had hollowed me out, leaving a void that threatened to swallow me whole. I felt like I was tumbling down a never-ending tunnel, where the light at the end seemed too distant to ever reach. The only thing that kept me from plunging further into that abyss was Matthew.