Friday morning shift ended early enough that the sun was still high in the sky when I finally arrived home. I took a quick shower, letting the hot water pound my shoulders, as if it could wash away the last three days of pretending everything was normal. When I stepped out, a towel wrapped securely around me, my phone was already ringing on the nightstand, its insistent tone cutting through the silence.

Mateo.

My stomach did that stupid flip it always did when his name lit up the screen, a mix of excitement and guilt churning within me. I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the answer button, half-convinced that he...