“I don't care. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
The lock clicks.
I push the door open slowly.
She’s in the tub. Fully dressed. Coat half on like she never finished leaving. Skirt dark at the hem. Boots still laced. Theporcelain looks too small for her, knees drawn up, shoulders curved in.
Jane doesn’t sit like that. She’s usually straight-backed and vibrant, bursting with energy. Now she’s folded in on herself.
Her hair is still in those soft waves she spent time on. Now it’s damp and tangled against her cheeks.
She’s trembling.
The tub is dry. She didn’t turn the water on. She just climbed into the only container big enough to hold her feelings.
My throat tightens.
I step inside and shut the door behind me, careful with the latch, as if any sudden noise might break whatever thin thread is holding her together.
I don’t move closer yet.
For a second, she doesn't look up. When she does, her eyes are bright and furious and wrecked.
“Happy?” she asks. “You got the full picture now?”
“No,” I say quietly. “Because you’re not tellin’ me what’s happening in your head.”
Her laugh is small and sharp. “You wouldn’t like it.”
I crouch by the tub carefully, keeping my voice level. “Try me.”
Jane stares at me like she wants to spit something cruel. Instead, she breaks.
“I’m tired,” she says shakily. “I’m tired of being too much. I’m tired of people loving me like I’m a problem they have to manage.”
Her breath catches, and her chin trembles before she forces it still.
“I thought... I thought you were different,” she mutters. “And then I heard you say it, and I thought, of course. Of course I’m not what you wanted.”
My chest feels like someone reached in and squeezed.
I don’t move closer or touch her yet. I just let the truth sit between us.
“I am different. But I’m still human. I’m still learning.”
She wipes at her cheek angrily, as if tears are an insult. “Learning what?”
“How to have someone in my space,” I admit. “How to want someone and not treat it like a threat.”
Her eyes flicker.
“I didn't want chaos,” I continue. “I didn’t want surprises. I didn’t want a woman who could blow my life apart with a smile.”
Her mouth tightens. “Okay.”
“And then you walked out on that stage, and the first thing I thought was, ‘There she is.’”
Jane’s breath hitches.
