“Nova…”
She looks down at her plate. I don’t want her to spiral. Don’t want this to become heavy when she’s sitting across from me looking likethat.
“Well,” I say, leaning back in my chair. “I am very much looking forward to the looks on the guys’ faces when we get home and you’re still wearing that amazing outfit.”
I grin. She tries to hide a smile but doesn’t quite manage it.
“Did you pick it out?”
She shakes her head. “Zoe did.”
“How does it make you feel?”
She thinks for a second. Then the smile breaks through, real this time.
“Kinda like a badass.”
We both laugh.
She reaches across the table, straightens the fold of my sleeve. She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t need to.
We eat. We talk about smaller things—classes, the guys, Zoe’s latest unsolicited advice. Nova laughs at my terrible jokes. I steal a bite off her plate and she pretends to be mad about it.
It’s good. It’s easy.
But underneath, I can’t stop thinking about what she almost said.
Because he said if I did—
What? What did he threaten her with? What’s he holding over her head?
Dessert comes. Something chocolate that Maria insisted on, on the house. Nova eats half of it and then pushes the rest toward me with a shy smile.
“I’m glad you asked me,” she says quietly. “To come here. I’m glad I said yes.”
“Me too.”
I pay the bill. Maria hugs us both goodbye, makes me promise not to wait so long next time.
We walk back in the dark. Side by side, close enough that our shoulders brush.
I should let it go. I should leave it for tomorrow, let the guys help me figure out how to approach it.
But I can’t.
“Nova.”
She glances at me.
“Please.” I stop walking. Turn to face her. “Whatever Silas said to you—I need to know. We all do.”
She’s quiet for a long moment. I can see her wrestling with it—the fear, the instinct to protect us, the exhaustion of carrying it alone.
“He said they’re coming for me,” she says finally. Her voice is barely a whisper. “And if I tell any of you… they’ll stop pretending you’re innocent.”
The world tilts.
“What?”
