3rd Person POV

  "Hey kids, wake up. Last stop."The driver’s voice cut through the quiet bus.

  Adam stirred first, groaning softly as Nickie yawned.

  "Shit…" Adam muttered, standing and stretching. He turned to Nickie, offering his hand to help her up. She took it, her fingers warm against his.

  They stepped off the bus into the cool night air of the terminal, the streets eerily empty.

  "We missed our stop... By a lot," Adam observed, gncing around.

  "Yeah," Nickie agreed, rubbing her eyes. "Should we call for a taxi? Or… maybe walk?"

  Adam studied her. "Can you walk? You look wobbly."

  "I can walk," she insisted.

  Fifteen minutes ter, Nickie sat down hard on a bench at the top of a slope. Her legs just gave out. "Let’s just take a break for a minute."

  Adam nodded, sitting beside her. The city lights twinkled in the distance from their vantage point on the hill, casting a quiet magic over the night. A soft breeze passed over them.

  Nickie closed her eyes for a moment, then turned her head slightly. Adam’s profile was still and thoughtful under the streetmp.

  He broke the silence. "Just tell me when you’re good to go, and I’ll give you a piggyback ride."

  "You will?" Nickie asked, surprised.

  Adam shrugged, a half-grin pying on his lips. "Hehe, I know you like it."

  She smiled. "Okay, then I’m ready to go."

  He crouched in front of her and offered his back. "Hop on."

  Nickie climbed onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, legs curling around his waist.

  "Rex," Adam said softly. "I’m not gonna drop you."

  "I know you won’t. Is it too much?"

  "It’s cool. I don’t mind."

  He walked at a slow, steady pace. Nickie rested her chin on his shoulder.

  Under the street lights, something pulled in her gaze. The tattoo on his neck.Up close, she noticed scars beneath the ink, stark and raw.

  More scars. Brutal ones.

  Her heart clenched, and she felt her blood freeze for a moment.‘What the hell... How could anyone do this to him?’

  She shivered, just barely.

  "Cold?" Adam asked immediately, his voice edged with concern.

  "No, I’m good…" Nickie hesitated, then added softly, "Are you okay with me weighing on you?"

  He tilted his head. He noticed the change in her tone.

  "I carried guitars heavier than you, Nicks. You’re the kind of weight I don’t mind carrying."

  Nickie chuckled, but Adam heard the tremble in it, the kind that doesn’t come from ughter.

  He stopped walking."Hey, what’s wrong?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

  Nickie was quiet for a moment. Her chest felt tight. Too tight.

  ‘It hurts just to look at it. He must've been in so much pain.’

  "I’m good to walk now, I think," she said ftly, sliding off his back.

  Adam watched her, worried, but didn’t press. They continued walking, the silence between them stretching.

  "Should we go through the valley?" Nickie asked, not looking at him.

  Adam raised a brow. "With all the wild animals and the dark? Aren’t you even a little bit scared?"

  Nickie reached for his hand. "Terrified. That’s why I have to hold on to you, okay?"

  Her hand gripped his like a lifeline. Adam’s heart jumped. He smiled.

  "I’ll protect you with my life." He said, giving her a dramatic salute.

  She giggled, her spirits lifting as they navigated the rocky ground. They descended the uneven path through the valley, arms brushing in the dark.

  Ten minutes ter, they reached Nickie’s house.

  "Do you want some water?" she offered.

  "Yeah, thanks."

  They drank in comfortable silence before Nickie put the gsses away. Adam stood by the kitchen entrance, watching her rinse the gsses.

  When she turned around, he was still watching.

  "Good night hug?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Adam didn’t say anything. Just stepped closer, slowly. His arms wrapped around her, and she melted into the warmth. He rested his chin lightly on her head.

  Nickie closed her eyes.‘Don’t stop holding me. Just stay like this.’

  Adam’s grip tightened slightly. ‘Please let me stay like this. Just a little longer.’

  A sudden noise made them both jump.

  "It’s just the cat," Nickie whispered, her lips curving into a small smile.

  Adam exhaled heavily, ughing nervously. "Huh… Haha… The cat… Yeah…” He took a step back.

  “Good night, Nickie."

  "Good night," she replied, her voice soft. "See you tomorrow."

  "Yeah…"

  They lingered for a moment, the silence charged, before finally retreating to their respective rooms.

  A PIECE OF ME

  Adam sat alone on the Karklins' guest room bed, silence pooling around him.

  The soft glow of the bedside mp barely reached the edges of the room, but it didn’t matter.

  His mind was screaming.

  ‘What the hell am I doing?’

  He stared down at his hands, aching, tight. He clenched them and unclenched them, as if that would shake off the feeling of her touch.

  But it lingered.

  ‘Too warm. Too good. Dangerous’.

  He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, head hanging.

  ‘It can’t st. I know myself. I’ll ruin it. I’ll ruin her.’

  The thought was sudden and sharp.

  ‘What if I lose control again? What if I hurt her without meaning to?’

  He swallowed hard. The panic crept in fast, tightening his chest, making the air thinner.

  ‘Even if it’s the st thing I want… What if it happens anyway?’

  And yet her ugh came back to him. Her hand in his. The way her eyes searched his face and didn’t flinch.

  ‘She wants this too. I can feel it… She leans in. She holds on. She touches back.’

  He pressed his palms to his eyes. Images rose anyway.

  Her lips. Her breath. Her body against his, holding on like she meant it.

  ‘If that damn cat hadn’t made a sound…’

  His breath hitched.

  ‘I would’ve… done more.’

  The realization smmed into him like a punch. His throat closed.

  ‘No. No, I can’t let this happen. It’s not real. It’s a dream. Something I’m not allowed to keep.’

  He sat back, heart pounding.

  ‘I have to pull away. I have to stop this before it gets worse. Before I take too much. Before she sees who I really am.’

  His eyes burned. He pressed a fist to his chest, like that might hold something inside.

  ‘I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve her.’

  A memory surged. That old, sickening pressure around his throat.The phantom of it tightened again now. Invisible rope. Unforgiving breathlessness.

  His hand flew to his neck. His fingers trembled.

  But then Nickie.Her face.Her voice.Her ridiculous smirk.

  The way she’d called him Bus Buddy.The way she’d said, I know you won’t drop me.

  The memory didn’t erase the pain.But it dulled it.Enough to breathe again.

  He sat there a long time, eyes wide, staring at nothing.

  He knew it like he knew his own heartbeat.

  ‘Walking away would be like ripping myself in half.’