The drive home felt like a long drop on a broken ride. My chest tightened, loosened, then tightened again. My thoughts bounced between years of fighting with Julian and the strange stretch of time after my death when I wasn't alive, not gone either, just drifting, unseen, unheard.
When the car finally stopped, I didn't move.
My hands stayed locked around the steering wheel. My body refused to listen.
For a moment, I didn't even know who I was.
Was I Elena the woman who had been betrayed and shattered?
Was I nothing more than a lingering shadow?
Or was I Riley the woman who had been given another chance and had learned how to stand again?
The door suddenly opened. Cold air rushed in, sharp and biting. Snow slipped into the car, spinning softly. Then a familiar voice followed.
"Why are you still sitting there?" Lena asked gently. "I've been watching you from the porch."
