Lucas’s POV
Driving myself away from Mandy's apartment, the city lights blurred into streaks of gold and white as the weight of the evening pressed heavily on my chest.
My hands gripped the steering wheel, tighter than necessary, but I couldn’t seem to loosen them. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts—frustration, confusion, and a gnawing helplessness that refused to let go.
"What went wrong?" I wondered to myself.
One minute, Mandy and I were laughing, sharing a moment that felt almost normal, almost like the way things used to be. And then—just like that—everything shattered.
She froze, her face turned pale and her eyes became distant, like she wasn’t even in the room anymore. I’d seen fear before, but not like this. This was something deeper, something that reached into the darkest parts of her.
And I had no idea how to help.
I replayed the moment over and over in my head, searching for the trigger, the thing that had sent her spiraling. But nothing stood out.
Was it someth
