I frowned. “Someone else’s?”
Ember didn’t answer right away.
We reached the end of the hall, where the noise of the clubhouse faded into a low hum. She paused there, turning to face me fully.
“This is where I stop walking you,” she said. “Beyond this point, you don’t go anywhere alone unless you’re told otherwise. Especially outside.”
“Because of my dad,” I said quietly.
“Because of everyone,” she corrected. “You’re leverage. You’re visible. And right now? You’re protected.”
I looked at her. Really looked.
She hadn’t hovered. She hadn’t lectured. She hadn’t once made me feel small.
“You’re not babysitting me,” I said.
Her mouth curved, just a little. “Mmmm.”
“You’re guarding me.”
“Think of it as a two birds one stone kind of thing.”
Something in my chest eased at that. Not fear exactly. Not relief.
Understanding.
As we turned back toward the noise and warmth of the clubhouse, I adjusted the cut on my shoulders.
Maybe Lock had put it on me for protection.
But Ember?
She was making sure it actually worked.
Why did I feel like I had a friend here… more than I ever had at home.
“Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving,” Ember said.
My stomach rumbled in response and she snorted. “Yeah, definitely food time.”
I didn’t realize how hungry I was until Ember handed me a plate.
It was nothing fancy. Eggs. Toast. Potatoes cooked in way too much oil. The kind of food you didn’t think about until your stomach reminded you it existed.
I stared at it for a second.
“Eat,” Ember said. Not sharp. Not impatient. Just practical. Like it hadn’t even crossed her mind that I might not.
So I did.
The first bite nearly made my eyes close. I hadn’t eaten since before everything went sideways, and my body reacted immediately. My hands shook a little as I leaned against the counter and kept going, slower this time.
No one stopped what they were doing when I started eating.
That alone felt strange.
Here, people moved around me like I wasn’t in the way. Like I didn’t need permission to exist in the space.
