Fractured Resolve

Troy woke up feeling like a hollow shell. His mind was a fog of anger, regret, and something even darker, something he wasn’t sure he could control. He barely touched his breakfast, barely acknowledged his mother’s presence.

She leaned against the counter, sipping her coffee, watching him with quiet understanding.

“I take it things didn’t go well,” she finally said.

Troy adjusted his backpack, his face unreadable. “Yeah.”

He turned toward the door.

“Bye, Mom.”

And just like that, he was gone.

The halls were loud as always, filled with students talking, laughing, shoving past one another. But to Troy, everything felt distant, muted. His fists clenched at his sides as he walked, his mind replaying the image of Annie’s burned body, the sound of Sam’s broken voice.

Kasey stepped into his path, her usual smirk tugging at her lips. “Look who finally...”

Then she saw his eyes.

Cold. Dead. Unrecognizable.

For the first time, she said nothing.