RIO
I woke up slowly, confused at first. The smells of wood, motor oil, and coffee filled the air, and bit by bit, I remembered what happened last night.
The rejection.
The things I said to Raine were still on my mind, but the gnawing heartburn I felt wasn’t as sharp as it was yesterday. I cried myself to sleep, but knowing I did the right thing helped. This morning, I felt a bit stronger and lighter.
Sleeping helped me more than I expected.
I sat up in the bed I usually shared with Wolf. It felt empty without him. My body still felt heavy, but I knew I had to keep going.
Voices drifted up from downstairs.
At first, the voices downstairs were hard to make out, with bits of laughter here and there. As I listened, I picked out Lucy’s warm voice, Beast’s calm rumble, Cutter’s straight
