A R I A
The water has long stopped running, but I'm still sitting at the edge of the tub, my towel clinging damply to my skin, my thoughts knotted and loud. Thankfully, the bathroom mirror is fogged over. I don't want to see my reflection. I don't want to see the bruises, the swollen nose, the evidence of everything that went wrong tonight. My face throbs with a slow ache, my ribs sore from the way I landed when Soren shoved me.
But it's not the physical pain that lingers. It's the betrayal. The sick, twisting ache in my chest that feels like my lungs have been folded in on themselves and left to rot.
I finally force myself to stand. I wrap a fresh towel around me, pat my face dry, careful not to press too hard around my nose. It's still tender, still bruised a deep violet across the br
