The room was heavy, silent except for their breathing, which was raspy and labored, merging with the faint whisper of fabric as they moved.

Winter's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing and for that instant Karina felt the weight of that glance as if it were bearing down on her skin.

Winter's patience was wearing thin, the anger just beginning to show, curling her fingers tightly over Karina's hands as if holding back something volatile. With a final, expectant gaze, she pressed for an answer.

Karina's voice quivered out, shaky and broke, her words almost choking on themselves as she looked down, stopped her words in her throat, her head slumped forward, bent under the weight of what she spoke.

The confession tumbled out between muffled sobs, her whole body trembling as she forced herself to keep talking, not daring glance up at Winter's face. Each word felt like it scraped painfully up her throat, leaving rawness behind.

Winter, however, sat still, eerily quiet. Her face seemed to shift imperceptibly, but something in the look in her eyes was siphoned off as a shield went up.

Karina's gaze darted up, her breath hitching as she noticed the change-the way Winter seemed to draw into herself, every trace of warmth and understanding slipping away.

Winter's face was unreadable now, features stiff like stone, and silence that had been between them had become deafening, suffocating. It seemed as if every wall that Winter had, that Karina hadn't even known existed, shot up all at once.

Panic began to rise within Karina; she could feel her heart racing wildly in her chest as she reached around Winter's face, desperate to find any understanding, any glimmer of evidence that would give Karina the reason she desperately needed.

But Winter's gaze was cold, locked onto her, holding her down with the edge of coldness and rawness cutting deeper every second that ticked away.

Her eyes were glistened with unshed tears, but her jaw was set hard, revealing the turmoil inside her as she fought to hold it all in. Betrayal, anger, hurt-all these mixed up in her features and painted a harsh picture that Karina couldn't bear to see.

Winter blinked, a tear slipping down her cheek as she pulled in a shaky breath, her voice breaking into a whisper but filled with the intensity of a scream.

"Why?" Her voice was poured raw with an unfiltered pain of hurt that felt boundless.

"Why would you hide this from me?" Her eyes were a mixture of pain and disbelief, her body held rigid, as if the wrong movement might cause her to shatter.

The words hung in the air, heavy, tangible, pressing down on Karina until her chest felt like it might cave in. She felt her heart twist, breaking further with every word Winter spoke, the cracks widening into chasms.

She reached up to touch Winter, to somehow bridge the gap between them, but her hands fell uselessly, her voice nothing but a soft sob. There were no words she could offer, nothing that could erase the hurt she'd caused. Her silence only seemed to deepen the hurt, Winter's expression hardening further as her pain grew into something more volatile.

Winter's shoulders shuddered, her breathing coming faster, louder, as her frustration and grief turned into a trembling anger.

Her grip on Karina's wrist was tight, almost too tight, her gaze fierce as she demanded answers, her voice rising.

"Is it because you don't trust me?"

Her voice cracked, barely holding its strength.

"Or am I just some kid to you-someone you think can't handle it?"

Karina could only sob in response, her throat tight with guilt and sorrow, her words failing her. Hopelessness in her eyes stabbed at something inside Winter's chest, feeding into her anger and frustration. Winter felt her heart break as the pain pushing her over the edge.

With no warning, Winter stood up from the bed with jerky, sharp movements. The sudden shift sent a shock through Karina, who reached out instinctively, clutching onto Winter's arm with trembling fingers, her eyes wide and desperate.

"Please, don't go," she whispered, her voice barely audible, thick with fear. Her grip was tight, clinging as if letting go would mean losing Winter forever. But Winter's gaze remained hard, and with a pained look, she pulled her arm free from Karina's grasp, the hurt in her eyes flashing before she turned away.

She left, her footsteps echoing through the room, the door slamming shut behind her, leaving Karina alone, the silence settling like a cold, unforgiving weight around her.

Karina sank back into the bed, lowering herself down slowly, movements mechanical, as if every last vestige of energy had seeped out of her body. Her eyes stared blankly forward at the wall before her, red and swollen, each blink heavy, like a slow pull against the tear-stained cheeks.

The room had been oppressive in its stillness, so silent, she could hear the beat of her own heart, with only an infrequent, raspy inhalation to break the quiet, one that snagged in her throat.

It felt like something inside her had hollowed out, leaving only a numb ache that ate away at her insides.

Winter... was gone. The thought felt unreal, like a shard of glass lodged deep in her chest, sharp and unforgiving. She'd ruined everything, pushed until there was nothing left, until Winter had finally reached the breaking point. Karina blinked, her eyes stinging, and a tiny, almost resigned smile tugged weakly at her lips.

She let out a bitter mumble, barely more than a whisper, "I finally did it... so stupid."

Her cold hands lay loosely in her lap and she turned her head, looking around the space of the room. The whole thing felt wrong and hollowed out of the warmth and comfort, almost like an empty, denuded space that had, at every turn of this room, once held Winter.

Her vision blurred again, as she sniffed, her gaze lingering on the pillow beside hers, still carrying the faintest trace of Winter's scent, a bittersweet reminder of the promises they'd once whispered to each other, promises that now felt like distant memories.

"What's the point anyway..." she whispered to herself, her voice thick with despair.

But she didn't blame Winter.

How could she?

If anyone was to blame, it was her. She was the one who had let this pain, this darkness, grow inside her, kept it hidden away like a festering wound.

Winter deserved better-someone whole, someone who could love without dragging her down.

Not someone like her, broken, damaged, tangled in shadows. Her throat tightened as the thought settled deep within her, the words echoing painfully in her mind: she didn't deserve Winter.

Her chest constricted, the ache spreading, until a sob broke free, soft and trembling, and she pulled her knees close, wrapping her arms around them as if to hold herself together.

She pressed her forehead to her knees, her shoulders shaking as another wave of tears broke through, spilling down her cheeks, leaving damp trails on her jeans. The warm evening light filtered in through the window, casting a golden glow over her, but she felt nothing of its warmth, only the cold, relentless ache that refused to let her go.

With each shaky breath, she hugged herself tighter, as if trying to fill the emptiness inside, but it didn't work. The emptiness only grew, swallowing her in its depths, leaving her alone in the soft, fading light of the evening. And so she sat, eyes shut, tears falling silently as she cried herself into the empty silence.

_

a/n: btw before you guys jump on Winter, please keep in mind that she is just 19 by this point, and she is also hurting, tho it's different then Karina's.✌️