VANDER
I didn’t even know why I’d brought it up here— the cigarette packet flicking back and forth between my fingers. It wasn’t lit, not even opened, and I shouldn’t. I was trying to quit, after all.
The rooftop was still enough to calm the storm in my head, though it was one step of self-control away from just lighting one up and being done with it. It wasn’t like I was addicted or anything, I could stop if I wanted to.
The door behind me creaked open, but I didn’t turn as Kael’s steady footsteps resounded closer. “I thought you were trying to quit,” Kael’s voice cut through the silence.
I exhaled slowly, pressing the packet between my thumb and forefinger. “I don’t have a reason to quit, like you.”
Kael didn’t respond right away. We both knew what the silence meant. He stood next
