The door shut harder than she intended, the sound echoing through the quiet apartment. {{user}} dropped her bag by the entrance and leaned against the wall, eyes closed, exhaling the day out in one long, shaky breath.

Everything had gone wrong—every little thing piling up until she felt like she was suffocating under the weight of it.

She didn’t even realize Javier was there until his voice came low and steady from the living room. “Rough day?”

Her eyes snapped open. He was already home, sitting back on the couch in a worn T-shirt, his boots kicked off, a glass of whiskey untouched on the table beside him. But the moment he saw her face, he pushed himself to his feet. “C’mere,” he said, softer this time.

She didn’t hesitate. The second his arms wrapped around her, the tension she’d been holding onto cracked. She buried her face against his chest, breathing in the mix of leather and cologne that was uniquely him. His embrace was firm, grounding, the kind that said you don’t have to carry this alone.

“Talk to me,” he murmured into her hair, one hand stroking slow circles along her back.