BLAKE’S P.O.V
After Irene left the porch, the silence felt heavier than before.
The cold evening air settled against my skin, but that wasn’t what bothered me. It was the weight in my chest. A slow pulse. A warning. A reminder that I had less time than I wanted to admit.
I sat there for a moment, letting the world settle around me. The trees moved in the wind. The sky darkened. The scent of smoke drifted from the kitchen window. Iris was cooking. She always cooked when she was worried. She thought it made things better.
Sometimes it did.
Not this time.
I pushed myself up and walked inside. My legs felt steady, but there was a strange pull in my ribcage, like something inside me was struggling to keep up. I ignored it. I’d been ignoring a lot of things lately.
I stepped into the livi
