PASCAL
Kendra sat beside me in the passenger seat, her face reflected faintly in the glass, calm... too calm. It was the kind of quiet that didn’t belong to peace, but restraint.
We had barely spoken since leaving the event. As much as I hated events, there were some we just couldn't avoid.
She had been composed all evening, poised and sharp as ever, but there was something different now. Something colder. Purposeful. Like she had folded a piece of herself away and locked it where no one could reach it, not even me.
“You didn’t touch your food back there,” I said finally, hands steady on the wheel.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“You barely said a word throughout dinner.”
“I didn’t have anything to say.”
Her voice was level, detached, like we were discussing weather and not the fact that she h
