I tap my fingers against the bar. Once. Twice. Stop myself on the third.
I don’t do long-term.
That’s not a tragic confession. That’s a policy decision. I prefer my exits clean and my expectations low. I’m good at showing up in the moment and disappearing before the moment asks for more.
Aurora’s a tourist. Passing through. Temporary by design.
I know this.
I remind myself of it.
And still, watching her cry into Zane’s chest feels as painful as watching someone quietly close a door I didn’t realize I was standing behind.
“Hey,” I say, because I hate silence and because my mouth always moves before my heart catches up. “Look at that. Locket recovered. Crisis downgraded from existential dread to emotional hangover.”
No one laughs.
Zane doesn’t even look at me.
Aurora doesn’t pull away, but she turns her head just enough to glance at me, eyes red, lashes clumped, face blotchy and completely unguarded.
And instead of deflecting it with a joke, she says, softly, “Thank you for not making fun of me.”
That’s worse.
“Who says I’m not making fun of you?” I say, too fast. “I’m just doing it respectfully. Growth.”
She huffs out a weak sound that might be a laugh. Zane’s hand tightens between her shoulder blades, protective and instinctive.
I look at the floor.
The truth is, I’m scared of how much it hurts not to be the one holding her.
And that’s new.
I clear my throat. “So. Uh. Good news is that if this was a dramatic intimidation tactic, it failed spectacularly. Nothing says ‘menacing villain’ like accidentally kicking a locket under a bed.”
Zane finally looks at me. His expression is measured.
“Aurora probably knocked it while packing in a hurry yesterday,” he says.
“Probably.” I nod. Too much. “Definitely.”
Silence creeps back in anyway.
I hate it.
Silence gives my thoughts room to stretch, and my thoughts are being unhelpful right now.
How she fits against Zane. How easy it looks. How safe she feels with him.
How I don’t know what I’d do if she ever looked at me that way.
I push off the counter.
“Okay,” I say briskly. “Everyone breathe. We’re fine. The town’s not secretly evil. Your heirloom’s safe. I vote we all pretend this was just an emotionally charged scavenger hunt and move on.”
Aurora finally steps back from Zane. She wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand, embarrassed but steadier.
