Two days had passed since the hostage exchange went sideways at the Golden Nugget Hotel, and Mei was still struggling with it way more than she expected to.
She'd prepared herself for the worst. Told herself she was ready for it, that she had made her peace with the idea of not coming back. But when it actually happened, when it actually fell apart — it hit her harder than she ever thought it would. Turns out telling yourself you're ready for something and actually being ready for it are two very different things.
That was probably part of why she'd snapped at Ryan the way she did. Stupid. Unfair. He was doing his best for her and she'd just unloaded all that bottled-up fear and tension straight onto him like he deserved it. Thinking about it now only made her feel worse, smaller, somehow. More pathetic than she already felt lying in that bed staring at the ceiling.
