The rain had been falling for hours. Soft at first, then heavier, pounding the windows like a warning. The house was quiet, unnaturally so. I couldn't sleep. Not with the image of her still burned behind my eyelids.
Ariana.
She’d been distant again. Quieter. Like she was slipping through my fingers one silent step at a time. And no matter how hard I tried to pretend it didn’t gut me, it did.
Around midnight, I heard the front door creak open. Then slam. I frowned, walking toward my window. Through the sheets of rain, I saw a shadow standing just outside. Soaked. Barefoot.
Her.
She was standing in the rain like she couldn’t feel it, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes tilted up to the sky.
Fuck.
I grabbed my hoodie and jogged downstairs, not even bothering with shoes. I yanked
