-Raya-
The car was quiet, but not in the usual Alec way.
Not the kind of silence that hummed with calm or comfort. This one was taut—weighted. Like something was coiled between us, unsaid, pulling the air tight between each breath.
I sat still, hands tucked in my lap, watching the flicker of streetlights blur past the window. His knuckles tightened just a little around the wheel every time we turned. His jaw shifted now and then like he had something to say—but didn’t.
But I noticed.
The way his glances toward me were quicker. Sharper.
The way his breath came slower, deeper, like trying to cool something boiling just under the skin.
And I didn’t know how to ask about it.
So I started somewhere else.
“Thank you,” I said softly, breaking the quiet.
He didn’t look away from the road
