#Chapter 59: Stay Away

The city lights blur past us as Karl drives, the tension in the car so thick I could slice it with a knife. My mind is still spinning from the events of the last hour—the creepy guy on the subway, the group of leering men, and then Karl, showing up like a storm, sweeping everything away. My eyes shift to him for a moment, taking in his stern profile, the jaw set in a hard line. His knuckles are white on the steering wheel. It’s clear he’s still riled up. “Hey… Thanks for picking me up,” I finally manage to say, breaking the oppressive silence. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I could do,” he replies, his eyes never leaving the road. The words hang in the air, laden with unspoken emotions and thoughts neither of us is willing to navigate right now. Soon enough, we pull up in front of my apartment building, and Karl kills the engine. We both sit there for a moment, contemplating the space between us, both literal and metaphorical. “Let me walk you