It had been a little over a month since Kieran last saw Aqua.
He was trying — really trying — to adjust to life without her. To focus on KJ. To make things feel normal despite the strange, fragile arrangement he and Cherry had fallen into. They took turns spending time with KJ, and whenever it was his turn, Kieran made sure he looked happy, steady, unbothered.
He never wanted KJ to feel like anything was wrong.
But the quiet moments betrayed him.
When he was alone in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark.
When he was out on patrol and the forest was too still.
When the world stopped long enough for him to feel anything at all.
That was when he fell apart.
He couldn’t stop thinking about that week with Aqua — the only week in his life that had felt like breathing. He would reach f
