I didn’t know how long I cried for. I wasn’t even sure if I was crying out of frustration, sadness, or just sheer exhaustion. All I knew was that Jesse held me close, his arms wrapped protectively around me and I needed that much.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that. Minutes? Hours?
Eventually, Jesse carefully lifted me into his arms. I felt weightless, exhausted, and too drained to protest.
"Come on," he murmured, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. "Let’s get you home."
I didn’t respond, just buried my face against his chest as he carried me out of the building. The cool air brushed against my skin.
I was too lost in my own thoughts, too numb to care about anything else.
He reached his car, and instead of placing me in the passenger seat, he slid into the back with
