She would stay until they caught Chester. Until security hauled him off the island in zip-ties and she could breathe again without checking over her shoulder. She would stay becauseleaving now would mean ceding victory to Chester, abandoning the life she had here.
But she wouldn’t be foolish.
She wouldn’t assume safety because David promised it. She wouldn’t lean so far into this fragile new life that she forgot how quickly everything could shatter.
The suitcase zipped quietly. She slid it into the back corner, out of sight.
When she straightened, her reflection stared back from the full-length mirror. Dark circles. Tangled hair. The haunted expression of someone who understood that sanctuary was only temporary.
She looked like she had when her mother died and she’d lost everything.
The realization hit like a fist to the sternum.
A faint knock at the connecting door made her freeze.
“Lena?” David’s voice, muffled through the wood. Concerned but not demanding. “You awake?”
She closed the closet door and ran down the stairs to let him in, schooling her face into something approaching calm.
He stood on the threshold, barefoot, wearing sleep pants and an old t-shirt that had seen better days. His hair stuck up on one side. But his eyes were alert, tracking her movements with the careful attention of someone learning to read her silences.
“Saw your light on. Couldn’t sleep either,” he said quietly.
“No.” Her voice came out steadier than she felt.
His attention drifted past her, scanning the room with the casual thoroughness of someone trained to notice details. She wondered what he saw.
“Want company?” he asked. “Or do you need space?”
The question was genuine. No wounded pride if she said no. Only genuine concern.
“Company,” because the alternative was climbing back into her own head, and she’d spent enough hours there already tonight.
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. But he didn’t move to embrace her, didn’t try to fix anything with touch or platitudes.
Instead, he led the way to the windows and sank into an armchair, leaving the choice to her.
She stood in the middle of the room, aware of the suitcase hidden away, aware of the calculated distance she was still maintaining.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. The words surprised her. “Not yet.”
David’s expression didn’t change, but something flashed in his eyes. Understanding, perhaps. Or recognition. “Okay.”
“I’m staying until he’s caught. Until he’s gone.”
“Okay.”
She wrapped her arms around herself again, that familiar gesture of self-containment. “And then... I don’t know.”
Something dark flashed in David’s eyes as he nodded. Hurt? “That’s fair.”
No arguments. No promises that everything would be fine. No assurance that she’d feel differently once Chester was dealt with.
Just a pained acceptance of where she was. She didn’t like the pain, but she desperately needed the acceptance.
The tightness in her chest eased fractionally.
She moved to the sofa, sitting on the edge, with her body angled away from him. Close enough to share. Far enough to maintain her boundaries.
