ISABELLE
Matt pulled into a driveway I recognized immediately.
The hills house.
My chest tightened. Of course, he would bring me here.
The engine cut off.
Silence settled over the car—heavy, suffocating.
I didn’t move. I didn’t look at him. Didn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging we’d arrived.
If I just sat here long enough, maybe he’d get tired of my silence. Maybe he would realize how ridiculous this was and take me back.
“Isabelle.”
I stared straight ahead.
“We’re here.”
I didn’t respond.
I could feel him watching me. Waiting for me to look at him. To say something. To get out of the car.
I did none of those things.
Seconds ticked by. Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
The silence stretched between us, taut and uncomfortable.
I wasn’t going to move. Wasn’t going to make this
