DRAKE
I park the car in the driveway of the house. The silence is thick, charged with the ripples of that shocking touch: did she feel it too? It felt like I had touched raw current, the way it coursed through my body.
I unclasp my seatbelt, my movements stiff.
“Halo, go on inside, buddy,” I say, my voice a little rougher than I intend. “You can finish setting up the system, I’ll join you soon,” I smile to diffuse my tone if it had hurt him.
Halo nods, already scrambling out of the car with the easy abandon of a child. As he sprints toward the door, I turn to Elena.
“You stay here,” I command, not asking, but simply stating a necessity.
She doesn’t argue, but the small scoff she lets out speaks volumes. She’s tired, and the suspicion in her eyes tells me she expects an argument, a fi
