Dom was direct. She always was.

Dom: “That girl?” she said, motioning toward you with a nod. “You don’t know her, Stell. And the ones you don’t know? They’re the ones that cut deepest.”

Stella didn’t answer. Just shrugged and kept stacking chairs.

But that night, the words echoed. Repeated. Crawled under her skin.

She found herself watching you more closely. Studying your movements. Trying to figure out if there was something Dom saw that she didn’t.

You laughed in the yard with someone from your unit. Stella’s stomach twisted. She told herself it didn’t mean anything.

Later, she slipped onto the bench beside you and handed you half a protein bar, dropping it on your lap as she leans back against the bench with her gaze on you.