The voice is back. Strong, steady.
“Are you sure?” I whisper to it.
Silence.
“Hello? … Are you sure?”
Nowshe chooses to stay quiet?
“Damn it. Answer me!”
Still nothing. Just silence.
Of course.
Fine.
I don’t need her. I can do this on my own. If it gets to be too much, I’ll just close my eyes and walk back into the rain.
But that’s what I always do—disappear into the downpour. Then I stay there, because coming out means facing something. Facing what I might see. Or worse… what I won’t.
I’m scared. Of everything.
Of not being enough. Of being too much.
Of never knowing the difference.
But I don’t want to be afraid anymore.
I open my eyes.
Gabriel leans in, and for a moment, everything else slips away. His hair falls forward in thick waves, shadowing the sharp lines of his face. His pupils are blown wide, swallowing the gray in his gaze. And still—he looks at me like I’m something worth reaching for.
I smile up at him.
It feels so easy.
Like breathing.
Like maybe, if I let it, this could be something real.
The warmth blooming in my cheeks, the quiet tug of my lips—it’s all natural. It feels right. Maybe it’s time I stop hiding in the rain.
Maybe it’s time I trust someone—even if it terrifies me.
I slide my finger out of his ass and press two fingers against his quivering hole, feeling the warmth of his breath fall acrossmy skin as he exhales. It sends a slow shiver down my spine, not from fear but recognition. Something inside me steadies for the first time in ages.
I slip my fingers back in.
His eyes flutter shut as he drags in a slow breath… then exhales even slower, like he’s anchoring here—with me.
I mirror him, drawing in a breath of my own. His exhale grazes my skin—warm, steady—sending a ripple of calm through me. For a moment, everything stills.
No fear. No noise. Just this breath, shared between us.
And suddenly, I realize how bad I want this to be real. To not flinch, to not second-guess, to stop bracing for the part where it all falls apart. Maybe if I keep breathing with him… I’ll learn how to stay.
“Oh god,” he says, freeing me from my mind. He grinds on my fingers and tosses his head back.
