I woke up to warmth.
Not the sharp, restless kind that came from alcohol burning through my veins, or the suffocating kind that followed nightmares. This was different. Calm.
My eyes opened slowly, and the first thing I saw was Tessa.
Her head rested on my chest, her hair fanned across my skin, her breathing slow and even. Each rise and fall of her chest pressed softly against me, grounding me in a way nothing else ever had. My arm was wrapped around her without me remembering when I’d pulled her in like this. Like instinct had taken over while I slept.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d woken up like this.
The last time sleep hadn’t been a fight. The last time my mind hadn’t been loud with guilt, anger, and regret. The last time I hadn’t needed a drink just to shut everything off
