MARIA POV
Waking up on the couch was not part of the plan. I rub my eyes, squinting as the sunlight streams through the window, hitting me square in the face. My neck aches, my back stiff from a night spent on the too-small sofa in the living room. I can still feel the echo of last night’s confusion, the bizarre sight of Henry and Dax cuddled up together in my bed like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I didn’t have it in me to wake them. Not after everything. Not after the way my heart had thudded in my chest when I stood there, watching them sleep. Instead, I’d grabbed a blanket from the hallway closet and quietly made my way to the couch, hoping that some distance—physical, at least—would help me clear my head.
It didn’t.
Now, here I am, groggy and disoriented, trying to
