Gina moves on.

Gina glanced back at the window once more, her eyes lingering on the open frame. For a brief moment, the temptation to crawl through it and take the easy way out flared in her chest. It would be so simple—slip inside, find a bathroom, something to cover herself, sneak out and pretend none of this had happened. She could wash the embarrassment away, just like that.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head sharply, as if trying to dislodge the ridiculous notion. Bad idea, Gina. She let out a small huff of frustration. The last thing she needed was to be caught sneaking into her neighbor's apartment, especially naked. Who knew what people might think? The embarrassment alone would send her into hiding for the rest of the week, maybe longer.

No, she couldn’t go through with it. She could imagine Susan coming back and finding her in the apartment—Gina, barely holding herself together, slipping in and out of the living room with nothing but her bare skin and a few stray thoughts for company. Her cheeks flushed even at the thought.

Not worth it.

With that, she straightened herself, once again drawing herself as low as possible along the fire escape. She crawled forward carefully, making sure to stay in the shadows of the wall, keeping out of sight. The air had grown colder, and her bare feet were beginning to feel the sting of the chill, but she pushed through, focusing on getting as far away from temptation as possible.

As she passed beneath the open window, she kept her movements quick but cautious. Every inch of her body felt like it was exposed, even though she was doing her best to keep out of sight. The slight ache from her bladder was still there, just a mild nuisance, reminding her of the awkwardness of her situation but not yet unbearable.

Once she had crawled past the window, the weight of her decision settled on her like a strange, quiet relief. She wasn’t going to ask for help—not yet, at least—and she wasn’t going to make things worse by exposing herself further. She was going to keep going, head down, out of sight, and find another way.

She resumed her climb down the fire escape, feeling the tension in her shoulders ease a little with each step. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but at least it was a safer one. And when she finally reached the bottom, she’d deal with whatever came next. For now, she just had to keep moving forward.

Note: This chapter composed with the help of ChatGPT, and then edited with the help of Gemini.