Max
I lay on the hard wooden floor of the shed, my arm tucked beneath my head, my breathing slow and even.
To anyone watching, I looked like a man asleep, but my eyes were wide open behind closed lids. Sleep had been a stranger all night.
From the moment Sophia’s breathing evened out and her body went still on that ridiculously thin bench, I hadn’t closed my eyes once.
I couldn’t.
Not when I knew how fragile her peace was. Not when I knew how easily the world had broken her before, leaving her to patch herself together with nothing but scraps of pride and stubborn strength.
So, I watched.
I kept vigil as though her safety depended on it. Maybe it did.
And maybe she would have slept just fine without me, but I couldn’t take the risk. Something inside me, something I couldn’t ex
