“Yeah, why did the soldier bring a ladder to the parade?” She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the punchline. “Because he was climbing the ranks. It was a stupid joke, but the way he said it, all serious, and at first he didn’t even crack a smile, and then he laughed at his joke, and it mademelaugh.”
“And you let yourself enjoy the feeling?” she asked, her voice smooth, calculated.
Damn her. She’s good.
I hesitated, feeling the warmth flicker and retreat. “I guess.”
Her pen scratched across the paper. “That’s good, Tyler. That’s progress.”
Progress. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“You talk a lot about Marcus,” she said.
“Yeah, he’s uhm…” I shifted in my seat, tugging my sleeves lower over my fingers. “I mean, h—he said things… on that day… and he…” I shrugged.
“Like what?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t only the words but how he’d hugged me, letting me cling to him like a sloth to a tree, all sleepy and needy. “He said I wasn’t alone. That I mattered.” As I’d cried into his neck, my stupid heart ached that he thought that, and I hadn’t been able to look him in the eyes since.
Pathetic. Needy. Broken. Scarred. Useless.
She tilted her head. “And did you believe him?”
No. I swallowed. “I wanted to.”
“And now?”
Still a no. I stared at the floor, at the scuff marks on the hardwood. “I don’t know. I want to apologize to him.”
Elena’s expression relaxed. “You don’t need to apologize for that day or for needing someone.Everyone here is a professional, and more than that, we care. No one expects you to go through this alone, especially not Marcus.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Mercifully, she glanced at the clock. “That’s enough for today.”
Relief surged through me. Head down, I left the office, moving on autopilot toward my room. I rounded the corner—and slammed straight into Marcus.
The impact sent files flying, papers scattering like confetti. Marcus stumbled back, catching himself against the wall with a dramaticoof.
“Jeez—” he huffed, straightening, his dark eyes widening in surprise as he stared up at me.
He was so much smaller than me. The thought hit me, and before I could stop myself, my hands shot out to steady him, fingers curling around his arms.
His breath hitched, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst through my ribs. I noticed everything about him—the streaks of pink in his dark hair, the wide brown eyes flickering between surprise and amusement, the curve of his lips parting in shock before settling into something familiar, something warm.
He tensed in my hold for a second, a brief moment of hesitation that made me hyper-aware of how my fingers still curled around his arms. I let go too fast, stepping back as if the touch had burned me. Then, I dropped to the floor to gather the scattered paperwork, my mouth was running ahead of my brain.
“Shit—sorry, I wasn’t looking—I mean, I was looking, just not where I was going—” I stopped myself before I made it worse. Too late.
Marcus crouched beside me, shaking his head with an easy grin, his voice dry but teasing. “You know, if you wanted to knock me off my feet, there are smoother ways to do it.”
I groaned, stuffing loose sheets into a folder. “Not my intention.”
He chuckled, and I caught it again—that scent. Clean and sharp, the unmistakable sterility of antiseptic from his “doctor” side, but underneath it, something softer. Lemon soap and something warm that lingered in a way I couldn’t name. It made my head spin, or maybe that was embarrassment tightening in my chest.
I handed him the last of the papers, our fingers brushing for half a second too long. “Got somewhere to be?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Heading back to my room.” My safe space.
“Want to go down for coffee? Daniel dropped off a pastry donation.”
