Between Bruises & Blooms

No.

Absolutely
fucking not.

Not Mira.

Not the sister
who taught Violet
how to survive
before Violet
ever knew
survival
would become
her entire life.

Not the woman
who could walk
into chaos
and somehow
make it feel
like someone competent
had finally arrived.

Not her.

I have already
lost Liam.

Already watched
Xaden become
something terrifying.

Already learned
that loving anyone
in this universe
is apparently
an invitation
for emotional violence.

You do not
get Mira too.

So when death
reached toward her,

I stopped breathing.

Because sometimes
a character
doesn't need
to die
to make you grieve.

Sometimes
the possibility
is enough.

One sentence.

One wound.

One horrible moment
where the story
leans too close
to the edge

and your heart
starts preparing
for an absence

that hasn't
even happened yet.

Mira lived.

And somehow

I still felt
like I had
gotten her back.