NINETY-ONE | COBALT

The silence in the car was unnerving. After so much action, so much noise, to sit with no sounds save for the low rumble of the engine and our steady breaths was soothing, but uncomfortable. My head pounded, desperate to fill in the sounds that it expected to hear.

I turned to face Harper, sat alone in the back. His gaze was fixed on the rolling trees and verges rushing past outside. I smiled at him, a tiny, grateful smile that said more than words could. He ignored it.

He’d lied for me when my Dads had arrived at the woods. He’d lied for me, and it was clear on his face that he regretted it. I’d been spared the agony of continuing our barbed conversation by the arrival of my Dads, tyres screeching as they pulled up at the edge of the sparse trees. Cyrus had disappeared in a sudden flash of darkness. I hadn’t had time to wonder where he’d gone – or why he’d left.

Dad and Paps had