章 339: Stop overthinking

The room was dimly lit, the soft glow from the bedside lamp casting a warm hue over the space.

Carmen was already dozing, her arm draped lazily over my waist as if anchoring me to reality. The faint rise and fall of her breathing should have been calming, but my mind was anything but still. 

I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts racing like cars on a highway. Tomorrow was the day—the day I handed in my modeling project, the culmination of sleepless nights and endless revisions.

What if it wasn't good enough? What if the professor tore it apart in front of the entire class? Or worse, what if he barely even looked at it? 

I rolled onto my side, trying to shake the thoughts away, but the movement stirred Carmen. Her arm tightened around me, and her voice came, soft and groggy. 

"Elena," she murmured, her lips brushing against my shoulder. "You're fidgeting like a squirrel on caffeine." 

"I can't sleep," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper.