The office building's glass doors swung shut behind Kimi as she stepped into the cool evening air. Her mind felt hollow, scraped clean of everything except exhaustion and the bitter taste of defeat. The fluorescent lights had drained what little energy she had left, and the meager granola bar she'd grabbed for lunch felt like a distant memory.
Kirk's cutting words echoed in her skull like a broken record, each replay more venomous than the last. Every time she dared to imagine a different future, his voice sliced through her hopes with surgical precision. The weight of his disapproval pressed down on her shoulders, making each step toward home feel like she was walking through quicksand.
This pack had become her prison. Every familiar street corner reminded her that she was utterly alone, swimming against a current that seemed determined to drown her.
