113. IDEAL MAN

KATERINA

We went home at the early hours of the next morning and I did not ask, but Vincent just kind of knew I needed company, so he took me upstairs to my room and without words from either of us, he shared my bed with me, letting me rest my head on his hard chest as I struggled with sleep for over an hour before I finally gave in.

I woke up to the soft blue glow of evening light filtering through the curtains, my body sluggish, heavy from the nap. For a moment, I reached out, fingers grazing the cold, empty side of the bed where Vincent had been. He had laid beside me, his presence a silent comfort I refused to acknowledge.

Like I had earlier stated, I hadn't asked him to stay—would have never asked him to, despite myself—but when the weight of sadness had pulled me down, he had settled beside me without a word. So Vincent-like, quietly attentive in a way that made me both furious and… grateful.

But now he was gone, and the stillness in the room pressed in. I propped myself up, bl