My head jerks toward the door when I hear footsteps. Nate doesn’t say anything as he slides the glass open. I stare at him, but he still doesn’t speak. His hands go over his head as he tugs off his shirt. I watch him undress in silence; I can’t think of anything to say, either. I feel dazed. I lean my head against the cold tile, and water laps at my feet. When Nate steps into the stall with me, I turn my back to him so the spray can run over my face for a while and wash away the tears.

He grips my stomach, then moves his hands up my body, but there is nothing sexual about his touch. It’s raw and nurturing. “I missed you so much.”

I turn slightly to watch him for a moment. I’ve never seen him this vulnerable. It’s only been a few days, but I know what he means. With me gone, he was starting to imagine the day that I wouldn’t come back. I’d started thinking the same thing.

“Missed you too.” I shift to let the warm water run down the front of my body as Nate strokes his fingers through my hair, so soft and tender.

“It’s all gonna work out,” Nate says. “Promise. I’m gonna call my father’s lawyer. He’ll get you out of this.”

I sigh. “How, Nate? There’s no footage. They found that poison in our room. They have those ema—”

“You know all the wild shit he’s gotten my dad out of.”

“Yeah, but he never murdered anyone.”

“You didn’t either, remember? This guy’s one of the best attorneys in the country. Like Kardashian, Shapiro-level good.”

I turn around and press my forehead against his neck and inhale the warmth of his skin. He sweeps a thumb across my cheek. When I open my mouth, my words rush out of me. I don’t know what I’m saying, not really. The words are mostly a blur.

I regurgitate what those cops said to me, the questions they asked, the way they kept looking at me. I tell him the things Taylor said, how she produced those fake white tears right in front of my face.

Then I groan and tell him how scared I am.

I know I didn’t kill Simon. And I know Taylor is setting me up. But I can’t see a way through this. Not anymore.

All Nate can do is listen. And reassure.

And worry.