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My eyes burn.

Mercy starts closing the door.

“Mercy.”

“What?”

“Tell her I’ll be right here.”

Mercy looks back at me.

“Do you want to know that?”

The question matters.

Not what Bitter wants me to know.

Whether I want to hear it.

I think about it.

Then nod once.

Mercy looks into the hall. “She heard you.”

The door closes.

I lie down without changing clothes.

My wrist throbs. My cheek aches.

My heart hurts worse.

Through the wood, I hear boots shift once in the hallway.

Bitter.

Outside.

Not forgiven.

Not invited in.

Not entitled to anything because he caught my wrist before I fell.

Not rewarded because he finally understands what he broke.

But not gone.

I turn my face into the pillow.

Maybe tomorrow I will know what to do with a man who can save my life and still not deserve access to it.

Tonight, I know something simpler.

I did matter.

I matter to me.