VANDER
It had been a long time since I’d been behind the wheel, and damn, had I missed it. This…was where I could be myself, not within the stifling walls of that house.
The moment my foot hit the gas, I felt that familiar high. The world blurred past in streaks of green, and the hum of the engine sent a thrill straight through me.
This was the kind of thing that made me feel alive. No pretense, no fake smiles, no expectations. Just the open road, the car, and my hands wrapped around the wheel like I owned the world. Except. I didn’t own the world. I owned nothing.
In the passenger seat, Dala was clutching her seatbelt like it was a damn rosary, looking at me like I was about to drive us straight into a ditch.
“Vander!” she yelped, her voice pitching as I swerved past a slow-moving t
