Save Your Apologies

Elena’s Point Of View   The drive back felt like a fever dream I couldn’t wake from. Rain still streaked across the windshield in silver rivers, the world beyond a smear of dark greens and blacks, the wipers keeping time like a ticking clock. Jaxx had one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on the console, close enough that the heat of his skin seemed to seep into me. I hated how aware I was of it. Every shift of his fingers, every subtle flex of muscle under his jacket, made my chest tighten in ways I refused to admit out loud. We didn’t speak for most of the ride. Not because there was nothing to say. But because there was too much. The rain eased into a mist by the time we turned into familiar territory… the gates of the Sinclair Estate looming ahead like some ancient fortress. Jaxx didn’t slow his smirk as the guard let us through without a single question. Of course he didn’t. Men like him didn’t get questioned. He pulled up right to the front steps, killing the engine wit