Noah
Afterward, we end up tangled together on the couch, quiet in a way that feels different from the fight that started it all, softer now, the anger and fear both burned down into something calmer. Ethan's got one arm around me, tracing slow, absent circles against my shoulder, and for a while neither of us says anything at all, just breathing, just being close.
"I'm sorry," I say eventually, breaking the silence first. "For what I said earlier. About it being your fault."
"I know you didn't mean it."
"I still shouldn't have said it. You didn't do anything wrong. You've been nothing but honest and brave this whole time, and I took my fear out on you because it was easier than sitting with it myself."
He presses a kiss to my temple, unhurried. "I get it. I really do. Fear makes peopl
