The car door shut with a solid, muffled thud. For a moment, I just sat in the driver's seat, the annoying stain of my father's words still clinging like frost on my skin. I needed warmth. I needed her.
The car's engine thrummed back to life, a low growl that carried me away from the mausoleum I once called home. I really do not blame Elara for not wanting come home.
My hand hovered over the wheel for a moment before I gave in and reached for my phone. Her name glowed across the screen, and the tightness in my chest eased just from pressing it.
She answered on the second ring, as if she'd been expecting it, or perhaps, as if she'd simply known I would need her. "Adrien?" Her voice, a melody of pure warmth, flowed through the speaker, a balm to the parched landscape of my soul. It was a sound that could mend fractured things, smooth rough edges, and chase away shadows.
