December arrived not gently, not like the romantic snowfall in movies, but like a stack of deadlines and emotional avalanches dropped all at once, burying everyone in stress and unspoken fears.
The semester dragged into its final stretch, the air heavy with exhaustion, students walking the halls half-alive with eyebags that could qualify as carry-on luggage. Mariella felt like her lungs had been replaced with concrete, especially now that her situationship with Paul was no longer a secret, even if it remained just as undefined.
Summer had come and gone, and nothing between her and Paul had technically changed. He still kissed her like she was oxygen, still touched her like he owned the patent to desire itself, still spoke to her in that calm, deep voice that rearranged something inside h
