31. Date in The Woods

|| Lilac's POV || The rest of the ride home was the kind of quiet that presses against your eardrums. The sort where nobody wants to be the first to speak because then we'd have to admit how badly tonight went. I pressed my forehead against the cool window, watching streetlights blur past like fading stars. Kael's fake sincerity. Cassandra's razor-sharp smiles. And now the Nightshades playing fairy godmother? My fingers twisted in my dress fabric. None of this made sense. Our house looked different when we pulled up - the porch light too bright, the familiar red door suddenly foreign. Like coming home after a long trip to find all your furniture rearranged. Mom moved first, her keys jangling too loud in the silence. "I'll make sandwiches," she announced, already heading for the kitchen. That's Mom - when the world falls apart, she makes turkey on rye. Ezra collapsed onto the couch like his bones had dissolved. "I'm starving," he declared to the ceiling, but his hands were clenched so t