Because everything with you feels like a test.
Instead I said, “Because I wanted one night. Just one.”
The words slipped out before I could catch them.
Her eyes flashed.
“So I’m a burden now?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.”
The air tightened. Familiar. Charged.
Usually this was where it flipped. Where the anger blurred into heat.
Not tonight.
“I’m done,” I said quietly. “I’m showering.”
Under the water, I leaned my forehead against the tile and breathed.
I can’t do this forever.
Sage stood by the window, wrapped around herself like she was freezing.
I watched her and had a thought that scared me with how clear it felt.
I can’t bring her home to my mother.
My mom would lose her mind.
Work was about to get worse. Longer hours. More pressure. Summer ending.
No more drifting days.
Was this ever meant to survive the fall?
Or was it just a season?
Something inside me folded.
Then the screaming started.
“Chloe just called me. Your ex, Erin? Did you plan on seeing her?”
Fast. Loud. Wild.
A lamp shattered. Glass everywhere.
“Stop,” I kept saying. “Please. Stop.”
She didn’t hear me.
More crashing. More yelling.
Neighbors pounding on walls.
