And that guts me.
Completely.
Because she’s not reckless.
She’s not ignoring the danger.
She’s not pretending Adrian isn’t a threat.
She’s reclaiming her life.
She looks at me again.“You cleared my place last night.You didn’t find anything.”
“That was last night,” I remind her.
“I know,” she says.“But it gave me courage.”
I inhale sharply.
Courage.
She got courage because I stood outside her window until my bones went numb and Kael brought me gloves and Finn texted updates every ten minutes about her laughing at pancake jokes.
Courage because we held her up.
But courage is hers now.
Kael nods slowly.“One night.”
“One,” she confirms.
Finn looks miserable but doesn’t argue.
I stay silent, because every argument I want to make would only clip her wings.And I’m not doing that.Not to her.
“Okay,” I say finally.
Her shoulders drop in relief.“Thank you.”
But I don’t say you’re welcome.
Because this isn’t welcome.
This is me swallowing the part of me that wants to barricade her inside Finn’s apartment and throw away the key.
Finn clears his throat.“So...we walk you home after practice?”
“Yes,” she says.
“And we sweep the building again,” Kael adds.
“Yes.”
“And you leave your curtains closed,” I say.
“Yes.”
“And your phone stays off until we swap it,” Kael reminds.
