The walls seemed to close in around me, the air in the room thick with tension. Zahra's words echoed in my head, refusing to let me breathe: "Let me take them with you."
She didn't understand what she was asking, what she was offering. She couldn't. She hadn't lived my life—hadn't seen the darkness clawing at the edges, waiting to consume her. Yet, there she stood, unwavering. Her eyes burned with a determination that both infuriated and captivated me.
For a moment, I let my hand linger on hers, the softness of her touch a cruel reminder of what I couldn't allow myself to have. But then I pulled away, the loss of her warmth stinging more than I cared to admit. I needed space. Distance. A chance to get my head straight before I did something reckless.
