The parking lot was quiet, the hum of Aiden’s engine the only sound echoing through the space.
The golden-orange light of the setting sun bounced off the steel of his car as he slowed to a halt in front of Lily and Maya’s dorm building.
The atmosphere between them was subdued, the tension from earlier still lingering.
Lily climbed out of the passenger side, her fingers brushing against the door frame before she shut it gently. Maya followed from the backseat, giving Aiden a grateful nod.
"You really didn’t have to drive us back," Lily said softly, peering in at him through the open window.
Aiden’s lips curved into a faint smile.
"I insisted, remember?"
She returned the smile, but her eyes dropped to the bandage just beneath the edge of his shirt sleeve.
The nurse had cleaned an
