Aaron
I move the second she steps off the curb.
Not fast enough to startle her. Not slow enough to hesitate.
One moment she’s walking, unsteady, stubborn, refusing to look in my direction, and the next I’m crossing the street, the distance between us collapsing with every step.
“Reza.”
Her name leaves my mouth before I’ve fully decided to say it.
She freezes.
She doesn’t turn. Doesn’t look.
Just… stops.
The bond snaps tight, electric and furious, like a wire pulled too hard in both directions. Shay surges forward, sharp and protective, every instinct screaming to close the distance, to steady her, to claim space around her before she tips again.
She turns slowly.
Her eyes hit me like a blow.
Too bright. Too sharp. Glassy at the edges. Anger, alcohol, and hurt braided togethe
