39 - Death and Life

Ruin

The rain pounds on the cabin roof as I return with bags of groceries. I can’t shake the unease gnawing at me, a feeling that something is off. But as I step inside, my eyes immediately lock onto Chloe Jane, sitting on the couch, her posture tense.

“Chloe Jane,” I call out, my voice laced with concern. She startles, as if lost in her thoughts, then looks at me with eyes that betray a mix of confusion and distress.

“What’s wrong, dove?” I ask, setting the groceries down in the kitchen and hurrying to her side.

She bites her bottom lip, a telltale sign that something is on her mind and when she starts to fiddle with the hem of her dress, I can tell it’s major. Not to mention the stress I can feel from her mark on my nape.

I take her hand in mine and draw my other hand to her chin to turn her head. She peers up at me with those unseeing eyes, then her voice cuts through the sound of the rain pattering against the windows.

“Halo has been talking to me,” she starts as I caress the