Serene
I didn’t expect him to ask me to come.
Xavier had spent the last few days watching me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. Not in a cruel way. More like he was waiting. Waiting for me to break. Or heal. Maybe both.
So when he knocked on my door just after dawn and said, “Get dressed. We’re going for a drive,” I blinked at him like he’d spoken another language.
“Where?” I asked, still in my oversized shirt and a messy bun.
“To Warborn Tech. You need a change of air.”
I hesitated. “Why me?”
“You’re under my protection,” he said simply. “That includes your mind.”
He didn’t smile. He never did. But his tone was calm. Like he knew I needed this even before I did.
And maybe I did.
Because I was drowning in my own mind lately.
I still woke up every night, sweating, shaking, cl
