Silent Scars

CHAPTER 77

ARIANA HASTINGS

A gentle knock stirred me from sleep.

"Aria."

His voice was soft, lower than usual. Careful. Like he didn't want to wake me too fast.

"Dinner's ready."

I blinked against the dim light of my bedroom, momentarily forgetting where I was.

The blankets were tucked just right. The room didn't smell like fear. The silence didn't press on my chest like it used to.

And outside the door... was Leonardo.

A second passed, and then the door creaked open. He stepped inside, cautious but not hesitant.

His eyes found mine immediately and stayed there.

Always there.

"You okay?"

He asked, even though he could probably already tell I wasn't fully awake yet.

I nodded, and even that felt like too much.

He came closer, reaching out a hand but not to pull. Just to offer.

His palm hovered in the space between us until I placed mine in his.

It was warm.

He didn't let go, even after I stood.

Instead, he gently guided me with him, his pace matching mine without a word. Not once did he rush me.

Not once did he look away.

We stepped into the kitchen together and immediately stopped.

Smoke clung faintly in the air, and Marcus stood over the stove, scraping some dark, smoking thing out of a pan with a look that said he'd already lost a few years of his life to this moment.

"What... is that?"

Leonardo asked, stopping beside me like he wasn't sure if we should move forward or call a fire department.

Marcus didn't even turn.

"Dinner. Or what's left of Kendric's attempt at it."

From the far end of the kitchen, Kendric popped up behind the island counter. His face was streaked with flour. His hoodie had a burn mark on the sleeve. And his eyes widened when he saw me.

"Oh...uh, hey! You're up!"

He grinned.

"I was making dinner!"

Marcus gave him a look.

"You almost burned the kitchen down."

The kitchen looked like a war zone. Something suspiciously orange was splattered near the sink and a kitchen towel hung over the oven handle like it had barely survived combat.

"I was trying, okay? I wanted to impress Ria! I followed everything exactly like the recipe said."

Kendric huffed, tossing his oven mitt aside.

"You put frozen chicken straight into the oil."

Marcus said flatly.

"I was going for crispy!"

"You put the pasta in before boiling the water."

"I was multitasking!"

"You turned on the wrong burner and set the towel on fire."