#Chapter 59: Stay Away
The city lights blur past us as Karl drives, the tension in the car so thick I could slice it with a knife. My

mind is still spinning from the events of the last hour—the creepy guy on the subway, the group of

leering men, and then Karl, showing up like a storm, sweeping everything away.

My eyes shift to him for a moment, taking in his stern profile, the jaw set in a hard line. His knuckles are

white on the steering wheel. It’s clear he’s still riled up.

“Hey… Thanks for picking me up,” I finally manage to say, breaking the oppressive silence.

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I could do,” he replies, his eyes never leaving the road. The

words hang in the air, laden with unspoken emotions and thoughts neither of us is willing to navigate

right now.

Soon enough, we pull up in front of my apartment building, and Karl kills the engine. We both sit there

for a moment, contemplating the space between us, both literal and metaphorical.

“Let me walk you up,” he finally says, a subtle softness creeping into his voice.

I hesitate, weighing my options, but then nod. After everything that’s happened so far tonight, some

company up to my apartment door would be appreciated.

“Okay. Thanks, Karl.”

We step out of the car, and as we walk to the building, I can’t help but notice a dark red stain on his

pristine white shirt. It’s blood. My stomach churns at the sight.

“You’re hurt,” I blurt out.

He glances down, a wry smile pulling at his lips. “Don’t worry. It’s not mine.”

Despite the churn of emotions and the image of Karl punching that guy square in the jaw flashing

through my mind, relief washes over me. “Even so, you should get that cleaned before it sets in.”

We reach my apartment door, and I unlock it, pushing it open. The familiar scent of home envelops me,

offering a much-needed sense of normality after what just happened. I gesture inside. “You could come

in for a minute. Let me clean that for you.”

The tension between us is palpable as we stand in the threshold of my apartment. For a moment, it

on the edge of something undefined and precarious, like standing

of a cliff and

moment, his eyes scanning my face for some

meaning.

with a soft chuckle, even though the feelings inside of me are

to get me when I really needed someone. The least I could do is help you

reply, my voice firmer

hesitates just a moment longer, as if weighing his options, before

inside, closing the door softly behind us. The

of our footsteps as we head toward

out from under the kitchen counter, I gesture for him to sit. “Take a seat. I’ll get

It should help with

complies, sitting down while I rummage through the cupboard under the sink for the bottle. When

it, I straighten up and grab a clean cloth

atmosphere in the room changes subtly, becoming

his shirt, gently dabbing

my touch, a palpable reminder of

his Adam’s apple moving as he speaks. His voice is

way I

his voice, especially when he would first wake up in

it would be like to wake up next to him again.

But I quickly

shirt. I’d hate to see it get

smirks. “I could just

too close, and my thoughts betray me,

mind—the feel of his arms around me, the heat of

that deep voice.

ask, my voice a little too casual as I

ground. “I noticed you left the party early tonight

for just a second

about.”

hangs in the air, like a puzzle missing crucial

expression stops me. The

risk with hard

heavy silence between us, punctuated only by

affected by my closeness as I am to his.

me to close the

the cloth now forgotten as we lock eyes. It’s a

silence that says more than words ever could.

how dangerously close we are

complicate everything.

hand. “Wash it when you

my chin, gently but firmly turning my face to meet

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