“Yeah,” I say, my voice softer now, but the truth hangs heavily in the air.“He came after me with a gun.And I’m pretty sure he was trying to kill me.”
Tessa’s lips press into a thin line, and she looks away again, her eyes distant.“It’s a lot, right?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, almost to myself.I take a sip of my hot chocolate, the warmth spreading through me, but it does little to chase away the cold feeling in my chest.
“What did they do with the body?”Tessa asks.
Pausing for a moment before responding, I suck in a breath.“The earth where Jasper was...it’s burned.Not a fire, exactly.The ground is scorched, left black and charred, and it feels unnatural.I know it sounds weird.”
“What are you going to do?Are you going to leave?”she asks, her voice tentative but sincere.
“Are you?”I counter, looking at her carefully.Her response matters more to me than I thought it would.
Tessa squints at me, her eyes thoughtful.Then she shakes her head, almost to herself.“Blade and Vex promised I’d be safe if I kept their secrets, but...”She trails off, a sigh escaping her lips.“It’s nice to know I’m not crazy.It feels good to talk to someone else about it.”
“Who’d believe us anyway?”I mutter, the weight of everything settling in my chest.This life, this world, is something no one outside of it could ever understand.
Tessa laughs, the sound light despite the heaviness in the air.“They’d say we were smoking the happy weed or eating mushrooms.”
The hot chocolate I’m sipping bursts out of my mouth, spraying across the counter as I laugh, the sound catching me off-guard.It feels like a momentary release from the tension that’s been building inside me.
“I am so sorry,” I sputter, reaching for a napkin to clean up the mess I made.
Tessa laughs harder, waving her hand dismissively.“It’s seen worse.”She pulls a rag from her apron and effortlessly wipes down the counter as if she’s done this a hundred times before.
“What should I do?”I ask her, the question feeling heavier than I expected.
“So, you want to leave?”Tessa’s gaze sharpens on me as though she’s trying to figure out if I’m serious.
“No,” I say, the word firm as it leaves my lips.“I’m not leaving.”
Tessa nods as if she expected that answer.“Then stay.There’s safety in numbers.We’ve got each other, and that counts for something.”
Her words settle in my chest, comforting and grounding, but something deep inside me shifts.I can’t help but feel as if there’s more to this than just finding comfort.I have a responsibility now to face everything head-on.
“I’m not promising anything,” I start, my voice quieter, more serious.“But there is one person I have to talk to.”
“Blade?”Tessa guesses, her voice more knowing than I expect.
“He’s never hurt me.And he did save me from Jasper.I owe him a debt.”
Tessa looks at me, her expression thoughtful.She doesn’t say anything for a moment, letting the silence linger, heavy with understanding.
“I get it,” she says finally, her voice soft but steady.“But don’t rush into anything, Hannah.Take it one step at a time.You don’t have to figure it all out right now.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod.I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do next.But I do know this—I can’t keep running, not from this place, not from Blade, and not from the reality I’ve found myself tangled in.
Tessa leans back in her seat, her eyes watching me with that quiet understanding.“Just...don’t make any decisions you’ll regret.Whatever happens, we’ve got each other.”
The smile I give her is small but genuine.For the first time in days, something shifts inside me, a fleeting sense that maybe things are going to be okay.A wave of relief washes over me, brief but undeniable, as if the heaviness I’ve been carrying has eased, even if only for a moment.
“Do you drink Fireball?”I blurt out.
“Yes?”
“You’re my new best friend.It’s so good to talk to someone I can trust.”
Tessa rocks back to look at me.“Yeah, it does.”
