The quiet of the cabin stretched on as I lay curled up on the couch, my phone resting on the armrest beside me. Jace’s last message lingered in my mind, the words repeating like a quiet echo.
I know you can. But that doesn’t mean you have to.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I had spent so much of my life being told that I had to be strong, that I had to endure, that I had to do things on my own. The idea of leaning on someone, of letting someone be there for me, felt foreign. Uncomfortable.
And yet… a part of me wanted to believe it. Wanted to believe that for once, I didn’t have to fight every battle alone.
A knock on the door shattered the silence, making me jolt upright. My heart hammered against my ribs as I turned toward the door, my fingers tightening around the blanket dra
