- Aria
I pulled a chair closer, my fingers curling around the cold metal rail of the bed.
My mind drifted anyway, back to all the places I didn’t choose but still dragged behind me like old luggage.
Old promises people broke and left on my doorstep.
And now this… sitting beside the only Stormbourne who ever made me feel like I wasn’t intruding in their world.
“Wake up already,” I murmured, brushing my thumb along the blanket near his hand. “I need someone sane to talk to.”
I swallowed hard and straightened up, pretending my heartbeat wasn’t echoing in my ears.
Fine. If he needed time, I’d give him time.
Then there was an agonizing silence.
But the silence wasn't peaceful, and it yanked me straight back into memories I thought I’d buried deeply.
I was growing
