Maria:
I wake up to my phone vibrating like it’s been trying to get my attention for a while and I’ve just been ignoring it.
For a second, I don’t move. Just lie there, staring at the ceiling, letting the unfamiliar quiet settle around me.
Then it hits.
Hotel. Trip. Storm.
Daniel.
I reach for my phone.
Three missed calls. Two from my mother, one from a number I don’t feel like calling back. A few messages I don’t open yet.
I check the time.
Too late.
“Great,” I mutter, pushing myself up.
Everything after that is rushed. Not chaotic exactly, just… slightly off. Like I’m a step behind my own morning.
I fix my hair halfway, give up, then try again. Change my top once. Almost change it again, then stop myself.
It doesn’t matter that much.
It shouldn’t.
—
When I open the door, I
