As Lukas drives us home, I find myself unusually quiet. Not just quiet, contemplative. Which, frankly, feels weird. Shouldn’t I be freaking out right now? I’ve spent the past few weeks dreading the idea of hunters getting involved in all this. In my head, they were these terrifying, ruthless monsters, walking executioners with no room for compassion or nuance. I imagined grim uniforms and colder expressions, people who followed ancient laws and rules to the letter without ever asking why. Maybe that’s how they want to be seen. Maybe that’s the whole point. Keep people scared and no one steps out of line. But then there’s Rowen. She doesn’t match the image at all. She’s got rainbow hair, a cinnamon roll husband, and a voice that sounds more like a sports coach than a terrifying avenger. And it’s throwing me off completely. Yeah, she’s still terrifying in her own way. There’s a kind of weight to her presence, like she could take the whole world down if she needed to, but she also joked around and sighed dramatically like she just dropped a sandwich, not announced an execution deadline. She was overall, quite reasonable. Firm, sure. But fair. And that… That changes everything. If I’d known hunters like her existed, maybe I would’ve asked for help weeks ago. But then again… If I had, we might not have met Wren. We might never have saved him. Or learned anything about the other people caught in all this. I probably would’ve never gone anywhere near Lukas’s family situation, and honestly? Maybe that wouldn’t have been the worst thing. But then there’s Lukas… Would I have even talked to him again if things had gone differently? Would we have ever spoken after that first awful interaction in his office? I mean, I was ready to blacklist him forever after that. And yet… Here we are.
“Hey.” Lukas says suddenly, breaking the silence. His tone is casual, but there’s a note of concern buried under it.
“You’re very quiet. It’s concerning. I can’t check what you’re thinking because I’m driving. Any chance you want to just tell me?” He asks bluntly. I snort a laugh before I can stop myself.
“Welcome to my entire life, I never know what you’re thinking.” I mutter. He shrugs, unfazed.
“Are you going to answer?” He continued, undaunted. I roll my eyes.
“I was THINKING that if all this chaos hadn’t happened, we probably wouldn’t have spoken again after that first time I fixed your computer.” I respond. He hums, a little amused.
“You mean when you yelled at me?” He confirms.
“You deserved it and you know it.” I retort. To my surprise, he nods.
“I did. I was planning to apologise, you know. I even went down to your office.” He informs me. Wait. What? My head whips toward him.
“You what?” I demand.
“That same afternoon, I went to find you. I figured I owed you an apology.” He glances over for just a second, lips tugging into the faintest smile.
“Also, HR would not approve of your kind of décor, but I didn’t report you. I figure I’m sort of obligated to keep your secrets at this point.” He winks at me. I frown, absorbing this new revelation. He was planning to apologise? So we might have spoken again after all? I thought maybe the only reason any of this happened was because I didn’t walk away. Because I got nosy and made a bunch of really reckless decisions. But now I’m wondering if all those good things, rescuing Wren, learning the truth about my aunt, reconnecting with my cousin, even Lukas, maybe they weren’t just accidents born out of disaster or coincidences due to luck. Maybe they were always going to happen one way or another. And yet… People have gotten hurt along the way. Is it horrible that I’m sitting here wondering if maybe all this chaos was meant to happen? That MAYBE it was worth it? I feel a bit awful even thinking that. But maybe that’s just how the world works. You don’t get the good without the bad. Or maybe you do, and this just wasn’t one of those times. Either way… It’s too late to change anything now. I glance out the window, watching the city blur by. The ache in my chest feels quieter than usual. Not gone. Just... Manageable. I should stop worrying about what could have been, and start focusing on what is.
When we get home, Roxy makes a beeline straight for my room. She hops onto my bed without hesitation and promptly curls up next to Princess, who is already asleep on my pillow like she owns the place. She doesn’t move an inch as we arrive.
“Well hello to you too…” I mutter as I follow her in. Princess glances up at me, blinks once in a way that clearly says, ‘What, am I supposed to chase after you like the dog?’, then lays her head right back down like I’M the one being unreasonable. Cold, Princess. Cold. And yet, I still adore her. So what does that say about me and cat owners in general? Probably nothing good. Oh well. From the living room, Lukas calls out.
“Are we watching a movie?” He already has the TV on, I can hear the soft hum of trailers or menu music drifting in.
“Yep! Just let me change into something more comfy.” I call back. I shut my bedroom door behind me and quickly trade my clothes for a cute little nightie. It’s not too dramatic, nothing over the top, but still soft, flattering, and absolutely designed to be more ‘adorable’ than ‘practical.’ I should take my makeup off. I KNOW I should. But… I kind of want to feel cute right now. I try not to think too hard about why that matters. Why I want to look nice just to watch a movie in my own living room with Lukas. He said I should do what I want, so… I guess the makeup stays. Mostly. I duck into the bathroom, wipe off most of my lipstick to tone it down, and dab away some of the eyeliner and shadow until what’s left is more like a soft smudge than anything intentional. Oddly enough, I kind of like the look. It’s less put together, but still nice. Why does almost rubbed off, faded makeup always look better than the carefully applied kind? If I could start the day looking like this, that would be ideal. I head back into the living room and stop short. Lukas has already raided the kitchen. There’s an assortment of snacks laid out across the coffee table, sweet, salty, crunchy, a little of everything, and two big mugs of hot chocolate, both topped with the perfect swirl of cream and a dusting of cocoa. He’s sitting on the couch, waiting for me. I could DEFINITELY get used to this. Except… I probably won’t get the chance. In one week, Rowan’s going to deal with Solem. One way or another, it’ll be over. And after that, Lukas and Roxy will go home. Sure, we’ll still see each other, we ARE friends, but it won’t be the same. We’ll both be back at work. We’ll be busy. Time will pass, and who knows what that will look like? I catch myself before I spiral. No. Not tonight. I just promised myself I’d stop worrying about what could be or could have been and start focusing on what is. So I push all those thoughts aside, summon a grin, and bounce over to the couch like I haven’t got a care in the world. Lukas doesn’t say a word. He just pulls me straight into his lap and wraps his arms around me in a warm, grounding hug. I lean into it without hesitation, letting the day finally slip off my shoulders. We scroll through a few movie options, land on something neither of us will probably remember later, and let it play. The opening credits haven’t even finished before I’m fast asleep in his arms. And honestly? I don’t think I could’ve picked a better ending to the day if I tried.