Chapter 5 That night , I filled the bathtub to the brim with scalding water , watching steam rise in thick clouds . I desperately wanted to wash away every trace of the past twenty four hours , as if enough hot water could somehow cleanse my soul along with my skin . But as I undressed in front of the bathroom mirror , the purple blue marks scattered across my skin told their own story . Love bites on my neck , fingerprint bruises on my hips each one a reminder I couldnt erase . The bruises werent ready to fade , just like the memories . Last night came flooding back uninvited the burning heat of his skin against mine , his passionate breathing against my ear , the way hed whispered my name in the dark . The ghost of his touch still lingered everywhere , like phantom hands tracing patterns across my body . The warmth of his chest pressed against my back , his fingers intertwined with mine memories I wanted to forget but couldnt seem to shake . I shook my head violently , grabbing the sides of the sink until my knuckles turned white , trying to shake away these fragments of madness . These moments that meant everything to me and nothing to him . Grabbing my roughest loofah , I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin turned angry red . My arms , my neck , my chest anywhere his lips had been . As if I could somehow erase what had become the most humiliating memory of my life . The physical pain felt almost good , like maybe it could overshadow the ache in my chest . The raw , stinging pain kept me tossing and turning all night. Every position hurt my skin too sensitive , my body remembering touches I was trying to forget . Aiden didnt text , of course . For the first time in six years , since we got our first iPhones in middle school , there was no goodnight message . No inside joke about his calculus homework . No stupid TikTok he thought would make me laugh . No heart emoji that I used to analyze for hours . Just deafening silence . Better this way . It had to end sometime . Might as well start detoxing tonight . I drifted in and out of consciousness until dawn approached , finally falling into an uneasy sleep somewhere between counting sheep and counting mistakes . Just as morning light began filtering through my curtains , I felt what seemed like a gentle kiss on my forehead , so real it startled me from my dreams . For a moment , my heart stopped , thinking he might have used his spare key to check on me like he sometimes did before school . Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!