Because if I let myself fall apart now, I won’t stop.
Savannah is still here. Still in his space. Laughing with the staff like she owns the damn place, trailing her expensive perfume through the air like she’s marking territory. I don't know what kind of spell she has on Knox, but whatever it is, it's working.
Or maybe... maybe he’s letting her because it’s easier than making a scene.
Because she’s dangerous in ways I don’t understand.
He barely looks at me, though.
And I’ve seen enough.
He made his choice, whether he said it out loud or not.
So I move. I chop. I breathe.
And then, without really planning to, I take off my apron and find Toni.
“I’m heading out early,” I tell her. My voice is calm, level. Not like I’m unraveling inside.
Toni arches a brow. “You okay?”
“I will be.”
That’s all I give her. She doesn’t press.
I slip out the back door just as Maya’s car pulls up along the curb like some kind of cosmic timing. She’s got her sunglasses on and a coffee in hand. She looks at me for a beat, then gets out without a word and opens the passenger door.
I climb in.
The second the door shuts, I feel it, how close I am to breaking.
Maya doesn’t ask anything at first. She just drives, letting the hum of the road and the quiet of the car settle around us. I stare out the window at Silver Peak rolling past. The bakery. The antique shop. Cold Snap Café. All the places I used to love.
“I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” I finally say, my voice low.
“Then don’t,” she says, without hesitation. “Walk me through it.”
I stare out the window, my throat thick. “She just showed up. Out of nowhere. Like something out of a movie. Cream sweater, perfect hair, those boots that probably cost more than my car. And the way she looked at me, like she already knew I didn’t stand a chance.”
Maya doesn’t say anything, just tightens her grip on the steering wheel.
“And Knox,” I continue, “the second she walked in, he just… changed. Like a switch flipped. One-word answers. No eye contact. It's like I never mattered.”
Maya lets out a breath. “Damn.”
“I tried to talk to him. Tried to give him space. I even thought maybe he just needed time to sort through whatever this is. But Maya, she calls him Knoxie.”
Maya makes a face. “Ew.”
“Right?” I half laugh, but it’s shaky. “And he doesn’t stop her. She touches him, his arm, his chest, like it’s hers. Like I was a placeholder.”
“And he lets her?”
I pause, then shake my head. “It’s not like that. I think… I think he’s trying. I’ve seen it a couple of times. He starts to come toward me, starts to say something, and then she’s just there. Interrupting. Clinging to his arm or laughing too loud or steering the conversation like she owns it.”
Maya frowns. “She doesn’t give him an inch.”
“No,” I say quietly. “And he doesn’t push back. Not really. It’s like he’s stuck. And maybe he doesn’t know how to fix it. Or maybe he doesn’t think he can. I don’t know, it’s like I’m missingsomething.”
