Zarek.
I’d been growing weaker. I didn’t know why or how, but every day it felt like something was draining out of me — strength, patience, something deeper — bleeding from places inside myself I couldn’t reach.
Recently, I’d also been spending more time with Danika.
I kept telling myself it was guilt. That I was only doing it because of what Valtira did to her. Because someone had to take responsibility. And since I was the one who brought Valtira here — since I let her stay — I allowed myself to sit at Danika’s bedside, talk to her, listen to her breathing change, ask if she needed anything. Anything at all.
Sometimes Danika smiled at me in this soft, weak way that made me feel like I’d failed her. Other times she would touch my hand and tell me she was fine, and something inside me
