My heart began to pound, hard and uneven, but my face stayed calm. I had learned that lesson long ago. Panic was something he could use. Calm was the only shield I had.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly.
He smiled wider, pleased rather than offended. “You always say that when you’re surprised.”
“I mean it,” I said. “You need to leave.”
He glanced down at the chocolate bars, amused, like I was a child caught in a silly habit. “Still overthinking simple things, I see.”
I closed my fingers around one bar just to give my hands something to do. The wrapper crinkled too loudly in the bright silence, and the sound made my stomach flip. My fingers felt stiff, like they didn’t fully belong to me.
“What do you want, Jaden?” I asked.
He tilted his head, studying me with an intimacy that
