Forty-Four

Adrian Nightshade

The door clicked shut behind Stella, and in that echoing silence, a surge of emotions engulfed me. My chest tightened with shame, like a vice squeezing every ounce of self-respect out of my body. It was a suffocating sensation, a reminder of the depths I had sunk to.

Disgust clawed at my insides as if I were contaminated by my own actions. I could almost taste the bitterness on my tongue, a foul aftertaste of my own impulsiveness. It was a flavor I detested.

Embarrassment flushed my cheeks crimson, a burning spotlight on my momentary loss of control. I felt like I had bared my soul, exposing my raw, unbridled anger to the world, and the world was watching, judging.

Regret settled like a heavy stone in the pit of my stomach, dragging me down into a se……