The fragrance of rain and steel filled the morning. The kind of smell that made everything feel heavier and stuck to your throat. I had hardly slept at all, pacing my tent as her comments kept coming back to me.

> "Stop lying to yourself, Michael. You can despise me all you want."

I couldn't stop hearing Matilda's voice. It broke past the barrier I had put up and followed me into the quiet. To no avail, I had tried running, training, and leaving my muscles stranded and wailing. By my ...