Her voice is barely audible.“Thank you.”
I don’t answer with words.I just walk beside her, matching her breath, matching her steps, anchored to her like gravity.
She doesn’t say anything else until we’re halfway down the block.
“Kael,” she says suddenly.“What if he really is here?”
I don’t hesitate.
“Then he’ll have to get through me.”
She swallows.“And Finn.”
“And Atlas,” I add.
“And me,” she whispers.
I stop again.
Turn to her fully.
“Yes,” I say.“And you.Especially you.”
Her eyes shine, but she doesn’t cry.She stands straighter instead.
We keep walking.
When we reach the building, she hesitates at the steps.“Will you...stay a minute?”
“Yeah,” I say.“As long as you want.”
She turns to me then, eyes soft, vulnerable, full of a trust she’s trying so hard to hold.
“I’m glad you came with me,” she says quietly.
I don’t touch her.
I want to.
But she’s giving me a gift, not asking for a response.
So I give her honesty.
“I would’ve come if you chose anyone else,” I say.“But I’m glad you chose me.”
A long, charged silence stretches between us.
She steps closer.Just a fraction.Enough that the morning cold disappears.
Her voice is almost a whisper.“I feel safe with you.”
My entire body reacts.
“You are,” I say.
She looks at me for one more heartbeat, then turns toward the building.
I watch until she’s inside.
