I didn't realize I was holding my breath until my chest started to ache.
The air felt too tight, too heavy, like the room itself was pressing in on me. When I finally inhaled, it came out shallow and uneven, as if my lungs had forgotten how to work properly.
Rome didn't move.
He stayed exactly where he was, just inside the doorway. Not stepping closer. Not retreating. As if he was afraid that one wrong move would shatter something fragile between us.
"I'm not coming closer," he said quietly. "I won't do anything to you."
His voice was steady, but there was something careful underneath it, something restrained.
"I just… I brought you something to eat."
He gestured slightly toward the tray in his hands.
The words didn't make me feel better.
They made my stomach twist harder.
"W-why am I here?" I asked.
My voice was barely louder than a whisper, and it cracked halfway through the sentence, betraying how thin my control already was.
"Why am I in your place?"
