ALMA

I couldn't avoid it, could I?

This torturous circle that I'd managed to sink into with both my legs. He wasn't going to leave, so I would accept his help.

It was just this once, right? I wondered how everything flipped in just a day. A few hours ago, I couldn't stand him around me; now I was about to get into his car. Why did I feel something flutter in my stomach?

Whatever it was, I was more than determined to drown it to its death.

As Carl opened the car door for me, with his eyes ...