Her fingers trembled as she unlocked her phone. Her contact list appeared on the screen, and her thumb hovered over Samuel's name. She hesitated, her mind racing through a hundred possible outcomes.
Before she could press the call button, a notification banner slid across the top of her screen. It was from a news app. She glanced at it absently, but then her breath hitched. Something about it caught her attention.
Curious, she swiped down to read it, her thumb brushing against the headline. The article opened, and her eyes began scanning the text.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Her breathing slowed.
The world seemed to tilt around her as her eyes darted over the words on the screen.
"No…" she murmured, barely audible. Her free hand flew to her mouth, her lips trembling as she took a step back. Her phone almost slipped from her grasp, but she clutched it tightly.
