NOELLE
The water from the shower runs cold long before I'm done. I stay under it anyway, scrubbing until my skin is raw and pink, the eucalyptus soap stinging every inch I can reach. Cooper's scent is long gone. I made sure of that. But the memory of it clings to me like rot. I can still feel his fingers on my wrist.
I shut the water off with shaking hands.
When I step back into the bedroom in my robe, the bedside lamp is the only light illuminating the room.
Azren is on the floor now.
He's slumped against the side of the bed, his legs sprawled, his bare back to the mattress. His shirt is gone.
His head is tipped back so the column of his throat is exposed like he's waiting for someone to cut it. An empty wine bottle lies on its side a few feet away.
Right now, he’s cradling the hal
