Maria
I jolt awake, disoriented by a change in the room. I blink until I can make out the shapes in the dark. The soreness in my throat and between my legs is a reminder of what we just did.
I am alone, yet a part of me wishes that Mikhail was sleeping next to me with his arm draped over my waist. I stare at the door for a moment, wondering if he were here with me, might I be tempted into doing something daring and possibly very foolish?
He'd have no way of defending himself in that state. He'd be entirely at my mercy.
You're not a killer, Maria, I tell myself.
And with that, I fall back into the pillow and feel myself fade back into a deep sleep.
Each day, I can feel the distance widening between us until days later, we act like strangers who mutually ignore each other. I spend more
