The window rolled down, and I leaned across the passenger seat. “You two planning to walk all the way back?”
Selene turned, startled. Then her mouth curved into something that made my mouth go dry.
“We’re not that far,” she said. “Just needed to get out for a bit.”
Winnie ran to the window. “We saw fairies by the library!”
I blinked. “You don’t say. Are they wandering into enemy territory?”
She shook her head. “They left glitter trails, and it’s bad luck if you don’t say thank you.” She narrowed her eyes at me as ice cream dripped down her wrist. “Did you say thank you last time?”
My lips twisted. “I’m gonna be honest—I don’t remember.”
She sighed like this was exactly the kind of oversight that explained the general state of the world. “You’re lucky you didn’t get cursed.”
Selene looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late.”
Winnie pointed dramatically. “That’s when the Lady comes out. She walks the roads and looks for people who forgot to be kind. I hope we see her.”
I tried not to laugh as Selene groaned. Winnie was into lore of all kinds, but you couldn’t escape chatter about the Lady, and Winnie’s young mind took the stories as fact.
I popped the door open. “In that case, you’d better hop in. I’d hate to be responsible for a ghost-related incident.”
Selene hesitated, like she might insist they were fine, but then she glanced at Winnie, who had already climbed into the back seat, cone carefully balanced in both sticky hands.
“Thanks,” she said quietly as she got in beside me. I nodded and reached across to the glove box and handed her a wad of extra napkins.
Winnie kept up a running commentary about magical portals and fairy physics, then trailed off halfway through a sentence. I glanced in the rearview mirror to find her slumped against the window, cone licked clean, fingers sticky, and eyes closed.
“I think she’s out,” I said.
Selene twisted to look, her expression soft. “She never makes it past eight these days.”
I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. The shared porch lights were on, casting everything in a warm, amber glow.
“I can carry her,” I offered, already climbing out.
Selene opened her mouth, maybe to protest, but then she just nodded and got the door.
Winnie didn’t even stir as I lifted her. She tucked into my shoulder, completely trusting, small and warm and smelling like watermelon candy, dirt, and sugar.
Selene led the way, holding the door, then stepping back so I could navigate the hall.
Her room was dim, the curtains drawn. I laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. She mumbled something incoherent and curled onto her side.
I stood there for a second longer than necessary.
Then turned to find Selene watching from the doorway, arms folded across her chest, something unreadable in her eyes.
“She’s lucky,” she said. “Having a friend like you around.”
I didn’t know what to do with that.
“I’m the lucky one,” I said, before I could stop myself.
It felt too honest. Too close to something I hadn’t admitted yet—not even to myself.
Selene looked away. I followed her out to the living room. The night was quiet, the whole house still. A breath between things.
