The drive from the airport back to Michelle’s apartment felt shorter than it should have.
Maybe because neither of them spoke much.
Or maybe because everything that needed to be said was waiting behind a front door neither of them were quite ready to open.
When Charles pulled into the underground parking garage of her building, the fluorescent lights flickered faintly overhead. The space felt familiar. Contained. Controlled.
Unlike the chaos she had just left behind.
He turned off the engine.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
“We made it,” Charles said softly.
Michelle nodded.
Made it.
As if she hadn’t just walked away from something that still pulsed warm in her chest.
They stepped out of the car together. Her heels clicked against concrete as they walked toward the elevator
