Chapter19
1048 Words
Serena didn't want to go home. She remembered one of the most loyal people she knew, Ashley. And decided to pay her a visit. Ashley’s apartment hadn’t changed much since Serena last saw it though the silence in it had grown. The walls, once warm with worn art and soft bookshelves, looked colder now, like they had secrets too big to hold.
Ashley didn’t hug her when she opened the door. She just stepped back, wordlessly.
Serena hesitated before stepping in. Her fingers brushed against the edge of the doorway as if asking permission.
The two women stood in the middle of the living room for a long moment, neither speaking. There was no rage. No heartbreak. Just something unspoken like a thread pulled too tight between them.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Ashley finally said.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want me to.”
Ashley gave a small nod, her eyes unreadable. “You know I don't really know or care about a lot.”
Serena lowered her bag, set it quietly near the arm of the couch. “I lost Clara.”
Ashley glanced at her, something flickering in her gaze, almost anger, almost grief. “We heard. Your work at the Park has been so little. So we've been figuring a lot .”
“I’m not just talking about her body,” Serena said.
Ashley sat, slowly. “I know.”
Serena stayed standing. “She left something for me. A letter.”
Ashley looked up.
“She knew something was wrong. Said the case was bigger than we thought.”
Ashley didn’t blink. “lord Sentinel tell me something I don't know. We know It was.”
Serena moved to the kitchen without asking. Poured water into the kettle. She needed the act of doing something, something human.
Ashley watched her. “You’re not asking how I knew.”
“I already know you did.”
Ashley’s jaw clenched just slightly. “You sure are going through it “
Serena kept her back turned. “She trusted me.”
“She was trying to protect you,” Ashley said sharply. “Do you know what Clara was digging into? You think she was just gathering evidence? She was naming names, Serena. Names that aren't meant to survive daylight.”
Serena placed the kettle down and turned slowly. “I could’ve helped her.”
“You would’ve gotten her killed faster. And yourself too. Before the pack you have a life.”
Those words hung like dust.
Serena leaned against the counter. “Did you know they were watching her?”
Ashley didn’t answer.
“Did you know Mara was going to take the case?”
“No,” Ashley said. “I seem so irrelevant. How are you the only person who seems to know what I do?”
Serena walked back to the living room, sat on the far end of the couch.
There was a long pause. The kettle clicked off quietly.
“I wanted to believe I could fix this,” Serena said. “That if I followed the rules and gathered enough proof, it would matter.”
“You did matter,” Ashley said. “That’s why they pulled you.”
Serena’s eyes welled but she didn’t cry. Not yet.
“Do you know what they told me?” she asked. “That I was compromised. That I’d let my personal connections cloud my judgment.”
Ashley scoffed. “That’s what they always say when the truth gets inconvenient.”
Serena looked down at her hands. Her fingers felt heavy. “They made me feel like I ruined everything.”
Ashley shifted, her voice quieter now. “No. They just couldn’t control you anymore.”
That silence between them began to thaw. Just slightly.
Serena reached into her bag and pulled out Clara’s letter, now folded and creased from being opened too many times.
Ashley didn’t ask to read it. She just stared at the way Serena held it.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Serena said honestly. “I don’t have clearance. I don’t have backup. I don’t even know who to trust.”
Ashley leaned forward slightly. “You have me.”
That surprised Serena. Not because she doubted it but because Ashley wasn't the soft and romantic type.
“I thought you’d stepped away,” Serena said softly.
“I tried,” Ashley replied. “But I couldn’t. Not really.”
Serena watched her, eyes softening. “You should’ve called.”
Ashley’s voice broke. “I didn’t know how.”
The kettle’s steam hissed through the apartment again. Serena rose and poured two mugs. They sat, still quiet, sipping slowly like the ritual was the only truth they had left.
After a while, Ashley spoke again.
“I’ve been thinking about your case a lot.”
“Me too.”
“I keep remembering our times,” Serena said, “when she took me out for drinks after I lost a case. She was the worst of my clients. But the sweetest.”
Serena shook her head.
“She said, ‘I don’t care if no one listens. I care that you say it anyway.’”
Serena let that settle.
“You make a great Alpha,” Ashley said quietly.
Serena looked at her.
Ashley met her gaze, then quickly looked away.
But Serena caught it.
Later that evening, Serena walked home slowly, the wind pushing soft waves through her hair.
She felt different. Ashley was always her go to, when she was younger. They weren't the best of friends but her honesty had her hooked.
She passed a bookstore that Clara loved. Its lights were still on, warm in the night. She stopped, stared at the window.
Inside was a book Clara had once given her.
Its spine glinted softly, like a whisper.
“For truth,” Clara had said when she gave it. “And for the days you forget who you are.”
Serena didn’t go inside. She just stared.
She never really realized how much time she h
ad spent with Clara until she was gone.
Because tonight, she hadn’t forgotten who she was.
She just didn’t know who she’d become.
- Writer
