I reach out and pull her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. She hesitates for a moment, then lets me guide her as she climbs onto the bed beside me, curling against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, breathing her in. For a moment, I just holdher, memorizing the weight of her against me, the way she fits perfectly in my arms.
"What if this ruins everything?" she whispers.
"It won't."
"You don't know that."
"No. But I know Emma loves us, and once the anger passes, she'll see that we're good together, that we're happy."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then we deal with it. Together."
24
MAYA
February's coming, and I can feel it in the air. That shift from deep winter to the promise of something warmer. Not that Hartford's getting warm anytime soon, but there's a change happening, in the weather and in me.
Dr. Mills says I'm doing well, that the nightmares being rare now is a good sign, and that my ability to talk about the trauma without dissociating shows real progress. She mentioned returning to work at our last session, not pushing, just planting the seed.
"You've come so far," she said. "And I think you're ready to start considering what comes next."
Next.The word feels heavy and light at the same time.
I'm thinking about nursing again. Not obsessively, not with the panic that used to accompany the thought, just considering it. A different hospital, maybe pediatrics again, maybe not. But the idea of helping people, of using my skills… it doesn't terrify me anymore.
That's progress. Real progress.
Tonight I can't sleep, I'm too wired, too awake. Emma and Chase went to bed hours ago, and the house is quiet except forthe occasional creak of settling wood and the hum of the heat kicking on.
I slip outside onto the balcony off the living room, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. The cold hits immediately, biting at my exposed skin, but I don't care. The sky's clear, stars scattered across the darkness like diamonds.
I lean against the railing and breathe.In. Out.Watching my breath fog in the air.
"Can't sleep either?"
Jackson's voice makes me turn. He's standing in the doorway, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, hair messy like he's been tossing in bed.
"No. Too much thinking."
"About what?" He steps onto the balcony, closing the door behind him.
"Everything. Therapy. Work. The future." I pause. "Us."
He moves closer, standing beside me at the railing, and I can feel the warmth radiating off him despite the cold. "What about us?"
“We need to tell Emma."
"I know." His hand finds mine in the darkness.
We stand here in silence, the cold forgotten, just holding hands and looking at the stars. The city spreads below us, quiet at this hour, and for a moment it feels like we're the only two people in the world.
“You’re shining,” he says quietly.
I glance at him. “What?”
“The starlight on your skin. You’re shining, Stardust.”
