Chapter 5

The group chat fell dead silent, like someone had dropped an ice cube into a pot of boiling water.

All the memes and jokes came to an abrupt halt.

The awkward silence dragged on for a full thirty seconds.

Lily: [What's going on?]

Vera: [Autumn? Is that really you?]

Zachary: [Oh, the star of the show is finally here? Why the period? Are you speechless or something?]

Bianca: [Autumn, you're awake? Don't be mad. We're just joking around, trying to liven things up. You're not that petty, are you?]

And then, a fresh round of harsher roasting kicked off. It…