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Alone again.

For months, I’d lie alone in a hospital bed and had felt every second of the loneliness. I didn’t need to physically confirm my suspicions. My heart knew. My head knew. My body knew. The feeling was too familiar.

“Do better, Tiana,” I whispered, “Do better.”

I slid the covers from my body and maneuvered to the edge of the bed. My feet touched the floor, cooling my warm frame. I tucked my feet inside my house slippers, a cherished gift from Rome. She was sweet enough to gift me with an entire collection.

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The kitchen was my first stop. I poured filtered water into a glass and then placed it against my lips. Slowly, I sipped from the glass, considering all the reasons I woke up in bed alone. As the thoughts began to circulate, I headed for the front door.

“Hmph.”

Finding it locked was baffling. Nonetheless, I returned to the kitchen and placed my glass in the sink. The water was gone–just as August was.

I tossed the misfortunes aside as I entered my bathroom. Within two minutes, my bladder was emptied and my hands were cleaned. I climbed back in bed, leaving my slippers right beside it.

Involuntarily, my body gravitated to the space that once held August. Frustrated, but simultaneously comforted, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, etching his scent in my memory. Sleep was searching for me. I made the hunt simple because I was in search of it as well.

Maybe in the next lifetime.

FOUR

Pretty,pretty girl.

Pretty attitude.

Pretty fucking upset.

My eyes were trained on Tiana as she tossed her head back, chuckling from whatever Balle had whispered in her ear. When her orbs lowered, finding me gazing in her direction, her smile faded and her mouth closed.

Pretty fucking mad.

Pretty fucking pissed.

But, pretty. Still very fucking pretty.

The eye roll that followed was nasty. Dramatic. Necessary. It broke a small piece of my heart. The soft, full ache assured meshe had done the impossible. She’d slithered her way through the cracks in the ice surrounding my heart.

My nostrils flared with content. My lips curled upward with pure, unfiltered admiration. Tiana had become my obsession, whether she knew it or not. I wasn’t sure how healthy it was, but I couldn’t control it or my actions because of it.