Ares looked at me first.
Didn’t ask me what I meant.
He just watched and said, “Okay.”
Zay leaned back a little, studying my face.
Emily was the only one who looked halfway surprised.
I shrugged and kept going.
“I can’t heal here.”
My fingers brushed the stem of the glass.
“This place too close to who I used to be. Everything that almost killed me still breathes out here. I’m clean. But I’m not safe here.”
That part sat heavier than the rest.
Because it was true.
I wasn’t spiraling.
I wasn’t craving.
I wasn’t weak.
I was just clear-headed enough now to understand that geography mattered. Energy mattered. Distance mattered.
Emily spoke next, soft but sure.
“We wanna go back with you.”
Zay looked at her. “We?”
Emily’s eyes widened for half a second.
“I mean… I.”
That made me smile a little.
“And my sister goes with me,” I said, before anybody could shrink the moment down into something smaller than it was.
Emily looked at me and smiled into her drink.
I leaned back in my chair and looked at the men.
“You can stay here and do man stuff.”
Zay laughed under his breath.
“We can help each other with Lil Z,” I added. “Me and E gon’ be just fine.”
Now Zay smirked for real. He looked over at Ares.
“You can handle both of them?”
His eyes moved between Emily and me.
