ARIA
I kept my eyes glued to the window, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing how red my ears must've been. But it was useless, every word out of his mouth slipped under my skin, winding me tighter, pulling me closer, no matter how stubbornly I tried to resist.
Before, I'd been slipping again. Back into that dark pit I'd been trying to crawl out of, the one where every thought turned into blame, every memory into proof that I ruin everything I touch. My chest had felt too heavy, my body too hollow. I could've drowned in it.
And then Kael came.
Now here I was, trapped in this car with him, and somehow… I wasn't drowning anymore. Somehow, the air didn't taste like regret. Somehow, just being near him made me feel a hundred times lighter.
