Hailey’s POV
The car ride was quiet, almost too quiet. Paxton tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, his jaw clenched in a way that made his sharp cheekbones stand out under the dim glow of the streetlights. I tried to focus on the hum of the engine, but my thoughts were anything but calm. My stomach twisted with the weight of everything that had happened between us—the kiss earlier, his cryptic words, the tension that always seemed to linger whenever we were alone.
“We need to stop by my house,” he said suddenly, his voice breaking through my thoughts.
I turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “Your house? Why?”
“There’s something I need to pick up,” he said, his tone clipped. “It won’t take long.”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”
We drove in silence th
