It was late into the night when hard knocks echoed through your apartment, snapping you out of focus, taking your mind away from your work.

You were planning on going to bed soon, had already taken a hot shower, and changed into clean and soft pajamas, a half-empty chamomile tea sitting close to you on your desk — safe to say, the interruption bothered you.

When you opened the door, the cold, prickly air from outside hit you right in the face, but then the person, whose cologne you'd already recognized, threw herself at you, bringing herself into your cherd and you into her arms in a suffocating embrace.

"I'm sorry—" she almost panted the words out, her arms squeezing you with them. "I'm sorry for showing up like this. Can I stay the night? Please, I don't wanna go home."

Her words were desperate, and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Why would she come over all of a sudden and ask to stay the night? You were mere acquaintances, a friend of a friend that you'd been seeing a lot more now that you had time to actually meet. What was she doing here?

Before you could get a word out, she spoke again: "Please. Please, I'm just— I need this. Please?"