ALEX POV
So what do you do in my situation?
I'll tell you what you don't do: you don't talk.
You don't open your mouth.
You don't even breathe too deeply.
Because words—especially mine—are dangerous. Catastrophic. Life‑ruining.
One wrong syllable and I'll be spending the next three months replaying it in my head at 3 a.m. like some tragic playback reel while my inner voice screams, "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?"
So, no. I shut up. I lock my lips. I swallow every impulse that wants to claw its way out of me. Because standing here, trapped between Xavier's stupidly broad shoulders and the equally stupid brick wall, I am very aware that anything I say right now has a 98% chance of making me hate myself later.
Not because of him.
But because of me.
