Kaiden’s Point Of View
The night air still clung to my skin as I dashed through the thick woods, each stride devouring the distance between me and her.
My heart beat with a wild rhythm, not from the exertion… gods, no, but from the anticipation curling tighter and tighter inside me.
I burst through the last stretch of forest, leaves scattering in my wake, and there it was — the small house tucked neatly under the starlit sky, warm lights glowing from inside like a beacon.
My chest ached just looking at it. At what waited for me inside. I slowed my pace as I approached the door, brushing a hand down my clothes half-heartedly to knock off the dirt. I gripped the doorknob, twisting it open.
The living room was… Empty. The lights were still on. The faint golden hue cast soft shadows against the furniture, the walls, and the forgotten blanket draped over the couch.
It screamed of waiting. Of someone sitting up, long past when they should have slept, hoping — praying for someone to walk thr
