A Weight Off My Shoulders

Draven.

After Meredith left, silence wrapped around the room like a second skin.

I stood at the window, staring into the night beyond the glass, thinking.

Her words played over in my mind, soft but firm, reasonable but laced with disappointment.

I hated how she could always say things that unsettled the parts of me I worked hard to keep buried—the parts that still knew right from wrong, the parts that could be... human.

Well, damn it.

I ran a hand down my face and exhaled sharply. Then I straightened, left my bedroom, and strode toward the second floor. My footsteps were firm, measured—no hesitation.

By the time I reached Xamira's door, I heard the muffled sniffles from inside.

I didn't think she would still be crying till now, so I opened the door quietly and stepped in.