REINA

The car ride was too quiet.

The hum of the engine filled the space between us, steady and low, but it didn’t hide the silence that sat heavy in the air. I could hear my own heartbeat, fast and uneven, like it wanted to escape. Calestino kept his eyes on the road, hands steady on the steering wheel, face calm... too calm. I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t even know what he was thinking.

Every few seconds, I found myself glancing at him, expecting him to speak, to scold me, to ask why I’d done what I did. But he didn’t. He just drove, eyes...