I stood under the shower and let the hot water pour over me.
It hit my shoulders hard, slid down my back, soaked my hair, and my face. Steam filled the bathroom, fogging the glass and blurring everything until the world shrank to this small space, and the sound of rushing water filled the air.
I closed my eyes.
It almost slipped today.
Everything I had planned. Everything I had been working toward for five long years. It came so close to collapsing right in front of me. One wrong move. One second too late. One truth spoken out loud—and it would’ve been over.
My chest tightened.
I pressed my palm against the tiled wall, breathing slowly as the water ran down my arms. My fingers shook, even now. No matter how much heat touched my skin, the cold inside me didn’t leave.
I need to move f
