-Raya-
The laughter had settled, replaced by the kind of quiet that didn’t feel awkward, just… calm.
I rocked slightly on the swing, eyes on the faint outline of a broken slide and a crooked jungle gym. Everything looked worn and forgotten, like someone pressed pause on this place a decade ago and never came back to hit play.
Alec leaned back against the old merry-go-round, arms crossed, gaze fixed somewhere beyond the swing set. Then, without even looking at me, he spoke.
“This place only becomes scary if you think it is.”
His voice was low—steady. The kind that makes you stop fidgeting and listen.
“But if you don’t,” he said, “it’s just a place. Quiet. Safe.”
I blinked, sitting up straighter.
He wasn’t smiling. There was no teasing in his voice. Just the same steady quiet I alway
