LILY
I forced myself to breathe, slow and steady, until my heartbeat steadied into something less violent. My hands were still trembling, but I splashed water on my face once more, pressing my palms against my cheeks as if I could push all the fear back inside.
“You’re fine,” I whispered to myself. “It’s just stress. You’re fine.”
Stress. Lack of sleep. The smell. Anything.
Anything but the truth I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
When I stepped back onto the floor, the noise of the bar swallowed me immediately — clinking glasses, low chatter, the sizzle of something frying in the kitchen. Everything carried on as if the world hadn’t tilted sideways for me in that restroom.
Emma spotted me almost immediately. She was wiping down the counter, but her eyes locked onto my face like she coul
