Tessa.
I didn't realize I had closed my eyes until I felt Robert shift slightly beneath me.
It wasn't abrupt. He didn't pull away or stiffen. He simply adjusted,subtly, carefully, so I could lean more comfortably against him. His arm tightened just a fraction around my waist, steadying me as if the smallest imbalance might send me tipping over.
Not moving away.
Just making space for me.
The steady rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek was grounding. Rhythmic. Predictable. Each inhale lifted me slightly; each exhale lowered me back into place. It was such a simple motion, but it anchored me in a way nothing else had that morning.
Something about it made the chaos feel distant.
Muted.
Like the confrontation in the hallway, the sharp words, the tension, it all felt like something that had happened days ago instead of mere hours. Wrapped in his warmth, with his heartbeat faint but present beneath my ear, the world shrank to something smaller. Manageable.
