Isabella’s POV
Mia showed up just like she promised—twenty minutes after the call that changed everything. She didn’t ask me anything. She simply opened the car door, and I got in.
I was grateful for that—for the silence, for the kindness that didn’t demand answers. My bag sat heavy on my lap, a reminder that everything I owned now fit into one compartment. The motel behind me blurred into the past, just another place I didn’t belong.
She drove like she always had, one hand on the steering wheel, the other occasionally reaching for the radio dial. The familiar hum of an old R&B song played softly in the background. I looked out the window, letting the music fill in all the gaps I didn’t have the words for.
The sun was still low, casting a soft gold across the trees lining the road. I d
