Protect Me Like That

Declan pursed his lips, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "Not great."

Serena stared into his exhausted eyes, offering no mercy. She let the silence stretch before she spoke, her tone cool and sharp, cutting through the morning air. "Do you remember my eighth-grade summer? The delicate roses Camilla planted in the backyard withered. She cried. You dragged me outside, shoved a trowel in my hands, a