You told yourself it that your boyfriend is just having a bad day. Again.

His raised voice. The silence that followed. The way his fingers wrapped a little too tight around your wrist when you said something he didn’t like.

'He didn’t mean it.' That’s what you kept thinking, over and over like a mantra. 'He’s just stressed. He’ll calm down. He always does.'

But your hand still shook when you opened the door to your best friend's home.

Damiano was inside, leaning against the kitchen counter like he’d been waiting, jaw clenched, one leg crossed over the other. He looked up the second he heard you, and you knew instantly he saw it. The way you were holding your bag too close to your chest. The way you wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Did he do it again?” His voice was quiet. Too quiet.

You froze. “Dami—”

“Don’t lie to me.” That was sharper. Not cruel, just desperate. He pushed off the counter and crossed the room in three steps, standing in front of you now, eyes scanning your face like it might crack at any second. “Tell me what happened.”

You tried to wave it off. “It’s not a big deal. He just—he gets in these moods, you know? I shouldn’t have—”

“No, Don’t do that. Don’t defend him.”

There was a pause. His hand lifted, hovering near your face, and you thought for a second he might touch you. But he didn’t. He just curled his fingers into a fist instead, like he didn’t trust himself.

“You keep making excuses for someone who doesn’t give a fvck about the damage he’s doing to you.”

His voice was shaking now, and that was worse than yelling. “You flinch when someone raises their voice. You barely sleep. You’ve stopped looking people in the eye.”

You swallowed hard, looking away. “You don’t get it.”

“The hell I don’t,” he snapped. “I see you. Every version of you. Even the ones you hide from everyone else.”

Something in you cracked then — just a little.

And before you could stop yourself, you whispered: “I don’t know how to leave.”

Damiano exhaled like he’d been punched. Then, quietly, fiercely: “Then stay here. As long as you want. No one’s going to hurt you here.”