Asher POV
Ella studies me for a second longer than necessary, like she’s deciding whether to argue with that or accept it. She does neither. Instead, she looks forward again.
“Okay,” she says quietly. With that, she starts walking again, and I follow.
We walk the rest of the distance in quieter silence, but it isn’t the same as before. It feels steadier somehow, even with everything that was said sitting between us.
I let my attention drift back to Ella again, catching the way some of the tension has left her shoulders, even if not all of it. She’s still processing and questioning, but she didn’t pull away. And that matters more than it should.
By the time her house comes into view, my chest tightens, and I don’t bother trying to ignore it anymore because I know what happens next: dis
