101. If Castle Was There…

Angel.

I stayed in the shower until my fingers pruned and the water ran cold.

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t move. I just stood there, forehead pressed against tile, letting the sting of cold water numb the heat still curling inside me. Heat from his hands.

From his mouth.

I let him in. Again. I let him ruin me. Again. And I pretended—somewhere in the back of my broken-ass brain—that maybe this time would be different.

Eventually, I turned off the water and stood there for a while, listening. Maybe he'll call out to me. I really wanted him to stay, not because I said it but because he chose to.

I didn’t come out until I heard the faint click of the front door and the distant hum of his engine driving off. My heart plummeted in my chest when I realized he left.

Only then did I emerge, towel around my waist, my heart clenching.

Of course he left. I was probably doing him a favor when I told him to leave. So what else was I expecting?

I stood in the doorway of the bathroom and stared at my