Evaline:
I didn't even realize how deep I had sunk into my thoughts until warmth wrapped around my fingers.
I blinked, my gaze snapping down to where River's hand had come to rest over mine.
The car wasn't moving.
Confused, I looked out the window and realized we were pulled over on the side of the mountain road, the world outside quiet and vast - pine trees standing like silent witnesses beneath a sky slowly bruising into evening. The leaves rustled in the soft wind, the only sound grounding me in the present.
River unbuckled his seat belt and turned fully toward me, his movements unhurried, deliberate. His fingers slipped between mine, lacing our hands together with practiced ease, as if this was where they belonged. The warmth of his skin seeped into me, steadying something that had been spiraling since the moment I had stepped out of Marcus's cell.
"Angel," he said softly. "You need to stop overthinking."
I arched an eyebrow at him, slow and pointed.
