

Chapter 8 - Bruise Language
After discovering Noah's hidden box—and the message scrawled inside—Aubrey shuts down. She ghosts him. Ignores every text. Doesn't draw. Doesn't sleep. Because she finally realizes she wanted in... and he never opened the door.
Noah spirals. Sleeps less. Regrets more.
At 2 a.m., he shows up at her apartment—not soaked in rain, but in guilt. He tries to explain. Says he's sorry. Says he didn't want her to see that part of him.
But when she asks the one question that matters--
"Do you want me, really?"
He hesitates.
And that hesitation is all she needs to close the door.
He stays, forehead pressed to the wood. But this time, she lets herself cry on the other side—loud enough for him to hear.
