Paper. My chest tightened. My ninety-nine rejection letters, each one a symbol of my resilience, all gone. I swallowed hard, trying to find a way to feel relieved. Shouldn’t this be freeing? A fresh start? But instead, it felt like a punch to the gut.
I crouched near the soggy remains of what used to be my life. A warped notebook sat on top of the pile, its pages swollen and curling like they were giving up. My clothes were soaked through, and the colors had started to bleed, seams unraveling. Everything felt precarious, on the verge of disintegrating, like one more gust of wind could scatter it all down the block.
I moved closer to the sodden pile of belongings, and I sank to my knees, struggling to process what this setback meant for me.
“Anna, breathe,” Joan said, her voice comforting. “We’ll help with whatever you need. Your clothes from yesterday? All cleaned and waiting inside. Wear those for now.”
I nodded, my voice caught in my throat. “Thank you, Joan.”
Luke’s voice was low but sure. “The most important thing is that you’re okay. Everything else? Just stuff.”
Joan chimed in optimistically, “The homeowner’s insurance might cover some of it.”
I appreciated her attempt to soften the blow, but I knew how long insurance claims could take to process.
“Where will you stay while they’re fixing things up?” Joan asked.
“With my aunt and uncle,” I said.
But Luke was already shaking his head. “What do you mean? You’ll stay here.”
My eyes flicked to his. “It’s okay. My family lives close by. They’ll have me.”
Luke wasn’t backing down. “You can stay here,” he insisted, his tone half-playful, half-serious. “Think of all the space you’ll have to write.” Then, more earnestly, “Please, stay.”
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, I considered staying. But then the familiar knot of fear tightened in my chest. Fear of rejection. Fear of stepping into something that might only hurt me in the end. What if I stayed, and it ended up being more about convenience for him than anything real?
I shook my head, trying to steady my voice. “I can’t. My aunt and uncle have plenty of room.”
It was safer this way. Safer to walk away than to risk hearing him say later that I’d overstayed my welcome.
A flicker of disappointment crossed his face, gone so quickly I wondered if I’d imagined it. He masked it with humor. “Right, now that you mention it, the place might be a bit cramped.”
My phone buzzed.
“It’s my aunt.” I turned away to answer. “Aunt Delores, a tree destroyed the cottage.”
“What? That’s terrible. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I need a place to stay. Can I stay with you until I find another place?”
Her hesitation was thick with guilt. “We’ve got the Gibson family staying with us. Their house was destroyed. They’ve got six kids, and the bedrooms are full. But you’re always welcome here. You can crash on the couch.”
My chest tightened. I hated being a burden. For a moment, I longed for the comfort of my mom—the one person who’d have made me feel safe and cared for.
Forcing my voice to stay light, I backtracked. “No problem. I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it, okay?” I hung up before she could respond, ignoring her call when she tried again.
Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Luke. “The guest room at my aunt’s house is full. She said I could stay on the couch.”
Luke frowned, his gaze intense. “You shouldn’t have to sleep on a couch, especially after this.” He gestured toward the debris. His voice softened. “Stay here. You can have your own room. Or twelve.”
I hesitated, the knot in my chest tightening. But then I swallowed hard, forcing myself to push through it. “Are you sure? I don’t want to get in the way.”
He stepped closer, his voice earnest. “Right now, the only thing that matters to me is making sure you’re okay. We’ll figure the rest out.”
My chest tightened for a different reason this time, tears threatening to spill. But I couldn’t cry. Not now. Not in front of him again. I looked around at the wreckage, at the chaos that mirrored the mess in my head. “Okay,” I murmured, almost like I was testing the word. “Thank you.”
Luke nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Good. You’ll see, it’s the right call.”
