Chapter 6
601 Words
•|• Thessira's POV •|•
The hours passed slower than expected.
I cleaned. I folded laundry. I tried not to think about how empty the house felt when it wasn’t filled with noise.
By late afternoon, I was already expecting them back.
That was when Elijah called.
“We’re on our way,” he said.
“Did they behave?”
A pause.
“That depends on your definition of ‘behave.’”
I exhaled sharply. “Elijah.”
“They’re alive,” he added quickly. “Happy. Slightly sticky. Possibly vibrating from sugar.”
I closed my eyes. “Perfect.”
He laughed. “We’ll be there in ten.”
True to his word, they arrived.
Mikhail burst out of the car first, holding something suspiciously bright-colored. Nikolai followed, calmer but smiling like he’d had the best day of his life.
“Mama!” they shouted in unison.
I crouched slightly as they reached me, immediately checking them like I always did—hands, faces, energy levels.
“You survived,” I said.
“We conquered ice cream,” Mikhail corrected proudly.
Nikolai held up a small bag. “We brought you something.”
That made me pause.
Elijah stepped out last, closing the door behind him.
He didn’t look tired. If anything, he looked… amused.
“They insisted,” he said.
I took the bag. Inside was a neatly packed dessert, still cold, carefully chosen.
Of course it was.
“Thank you,” I said, glancing at him.
His expression softened slightly. “You’re welcome.”
There was a beat of quiet then, the kind that usually meant I should go inside and end the interaction before my life became complicated.
I should have.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I said, “Walk me up?”
It came out more natural than intended.
Elijah didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
The boys ran ahead, still arguing about something involving chocolate.
We followed at a slower pace.
The street was calm, evening light stretching across the pavement in soft gold. For a moment, it almost felt normal.
Almost.
“Elijah,” I said after a while, “you didn’t have to take them the whole day.”
“I wanted to.”
“That’s not an answer to my concern.”
“It is mine.”
I glanced at him.
He was looking forward, hands in his pockets, as if the conversation didn’t require urgency. As if nothing ever did.
“That’s dangerous,” I said lightly.
“What is?”
“Being that calm.”
He smiled faintly. “You say that like it’s a flaw.”
I didn’t answer.
We reached the front of my building.
The boys were already halfway inside, shouting goodbye to neighbors who didn’t exist.
I turned slightly toward Elijah. “Thank you. Really.”
He nodded once. “Anytime.”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
I saw it.
Across the street.
A black SUV.
Parked too still. Too deliberate.
And leaning against it, watching directly toward us, was a man I hadn’t seen in days but somehow had not stopped thinking about since the moment I met him.
Alekandar.
My breath caught before I could stop it.
He wasn’t moving.
Just watching.
Like he had been waiting.
Like he knew exactly where I would be at this exact moment.
My fingers tightened slightly around the bag in my hand.
Elijah noticed immediately.
“What is it?” he asked quietly.
I didn’t answer right away.
Because across the street, Aleksandar pushed himself off his car.
And started walking toward me.
- Writer
