Chapter 43 - 42: The Calm Before the Test
Zane’s POV
The car slowed as we pulled up outside my house.
The familiar sight of home—the slightly crooked mailbox, the wind-chime Mom insisted on keeping even though it never stopped ringing, the porch light that flickered when it was too humid—was oddly comforting after everything..
Celeste shifted slightly in the seat beside me, glancing over at me, her fingers still resting lightly on the window, thumb tapping a rhythm I didn’t recognize. Every one else has already got off on their places now its just me and her.
"You know..." she said softly, "you can talk to me about anything, right?"
I blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in her voice. Her words didn’t carry any weight of expectation. Just... space. A thread offered.
"Yeah," I replied. "Thanks, Celeste."
She gave me a small smile—one of those rare ones where her eyes crinkled just slightly at the corners. "Take care of yourself."
The door clicked open. I stepped out, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. The car hesitated for a second before pulling away, her taillights vanishing around the corner, swallowed by the lengthening shadows.
For a moment, I just stood there, breathing in the late summer air. It smelled like dust and pine needles and distant smoke—someone must’ve started grilling down the street.
The past twenty-four hours replayed in fragments. Monopoly scattered across the floor. Emphera lying across the couch upside down, ranting about capitalism. Lena half-yelling at everyone and Iris calmly sipping her drink while judging us like an immortal queen.