The walk ended too quickly.
Her house came into view—quiet, gray, its windows like tired eyes watching them approach. She felt the familiar weight settle on her shoulders, heavier than her schoolbag. This place was supposed to be safe, but it never felt that way.
Kai slowed as they reached the gate. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, shoulders tense like he was fighting with himself. He looked at the house, then at her, then away again.
"You live here?" he asked.
She nodded, shifting her bag higher. "Yeah." Her voice cracked on the word, small and tight. She prayed he didn't notice.
But of course he did.
Kai's gaze lingered on her face, too sharp, too knowing. "You don't want to go in."
Her stomach dropped. "That's not true."
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. "You're lying again."
The words stung—not because they were cruel, but because they were true. She swallowed hard, trying to pull the mask back on, to force a smile, to deflect. But her face betrayed her before she could.
Kai sighed, running a hand through his messy black hair. For a second, he looked younger—less like the unshakable guy who stood against the cafeteria, more like someone haunted.
"I used to hate going home too," he said quietly.
Her breath caught. She turned to him fully, but his eyes weren't on her anymore. They were somewhere else—far away, lost in memory.
"What happened?" she asked before she could stop herself.
His jaw tightened. "Doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does," she whispered.
Finally, his eyes flicked back to hers, and the rawness in them made her chest ache. "Let's just say… I know what it's like when the place you're supposed to feel safe feels more like a cage."
The silence between them stretched, heavy and fragile.
She wanted to ask more, to understand, to know why his voice cracked when he said it. But she could see the wall in his eyes—the same wall she built around herself.
So instead, she just nodded. "I get it."
For a moment, that was enough.
Then Kai shifted, pulling back, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. "Go inside before I drag you back out here tomorrow for saying you didn't eat dinner."
Her lips curved into something almost like a smile—real, but faint. "Bossy."
"Only when I'm right."
And before she could argue, he turned and walked away, his dark figure fading into the street, leaving her heart pounding in ways she didn't understand.