Arlene

The car was silent. Not the awkward kind, but the kind that pressed into your chest and made your heart feel too big for your body.

Liam’s presence was calming, yet the air between us was heavy with unspoken words.

I glanced at him, then back out the window, watching city lights melt into darkness as we drove.

I could sense that he had something he wanted to ask me. I didn’t know why he wasn’t.

It made me so uncomfortable that I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why aren’t you asking me anything?” I finally said, my voice soft but laced with an edge of frustration. “About the launch…...