No one touches me after.
Not right away.
The room stays frozen in the aftermath of splintered wood and stunned silence, like everyone is waiting for something else to break. My ears ring. My chest rises and falls too fast, breath scraping raw against my throat.
I’m dimly aware of Asher’s arm still around me—solid, warm, real—but I don’t lean into him. I don’t dare move at all.
Because I don’t trust myself.
The shattered table lies between us like a crime scene. Broken legs. Jagged edges. What was once sturdy and unmoving reduced to debris in a single heartbeat.
I did that.
Chloe is the first to move.
She takes one shaky step backward, then another, until her heel catches on a splinter and she nearly stumbles. Her face has gone pale, freckles stark against her skin. Her eyes never l
