Axel was gone.
I knew because the door had clicked shut behind him, and the space he had occupied was now empty.
But the moment he left, it was as though the tears I had been desperately holding back crumbled, flooding my cheeks.
My knees wobbled and gave way, and I collapsed onto the floor. I clutched my scarf so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, the pain grounding me, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough to compete with the gaping hole inside my chest.
The first sob burst out of me so violently I almost choked on it. Then another. And another. I pressed my hands to my face, but it did nothing to muffle the sounds. It was ugly. It was loud. I cried like a dying animal, like something had been ripped out of me, and maybe it had.
Axel.
The same Axel who had once told me to always stand up for myself.
The same Axel who had once beaten the butcher black and blue when the bastard dared to put his hands on me.
