"Why did I think I could just walk back alone?"
She had been so desperate for a moment of peace, a moment to herself.
She had felt so suffocated, so trapped by the whispers, the stares, the constant reminder that she didn't belong. That she would never belong.
But now…
"Now look at me."
Her fingers brushed over the back of her head where the pain throbbed the worst. She winced as she felt the warm, sticky liquid clinging to her hair.
"I'm such a fool."
She curled in on herself, her breath hitching.
"Alaric must be so tired of me."
He was always fighting for her, always defending her, always watching over her. And yet, she kept making it harder for him. She was reckless, stubborn, trouble.
"What if this is it?"
What if this was the moment he decided she wasn't worth it anymore?
Would he think she ran away? Would he believe that she had just given up?
The thought made her chest ache worse than her head.