Sophia’s POV
By the time Emily and I finished carrying the grocery bags into her apartment, the tension in my shoulders had settled into a dull ache.
The whole day felt like it had stretched into something twice its normal length.
Emily kicked the door shut behind us with her heel and dropped the first bag onto the kitchen counter.
“Well,” she said flatly, running a hand through her hair, “that was one hell of a grocery trip.”
I placed the rest of the bags down beside hers.
“Next time we order delivery.”
Emily pointed a finger at me.
“Exactly.”
For a moment neither of us spoke.
The apartment was quiet except for the soft hum of the refrigerator and the distant traffic outside the windows.
Normal sounds.
Safe sounds.
The kind that helped calm a nervous system that had just surv
