Viv:
The sun was setting over the desert, painting the sky in strokes of gold and pink, the way it always did out here. Peaceful. Unbothered. The kind of sky that made you feel like maybe, just maybe, the worst was behind you.
I sat on the front porch with a chipped mug of coffee in my hands, legs curled up beneath me in one of the creaky wooden rocking chairs. The cushions were faded, but they were soft. Familiar now. Mine.
Our house.
It still didn’t feel real.
Behind me, the screen door creaked open and shut again, Knox stepping out, a quiet weight beside me. He didn’t say anything at first. Just eased down into the chair next to mine and handed me a fresh biscuit from the tray of leftovers Nora had dropped off earlier.
“Thank you,” I said, voice barely above a whisper.
He didn’t
