The car turned into the driveway and came to a stop in front of Kyle.
He closed his eyes and exhaled. The urge to turn around right now, retreat into the house, and not go anywhere at all washed over him.
Kyle pressed his lips together and opened his eyes again.
The passenger door swung open. Darren was leaning toward it from inside, holding it open. Then he slowly lifted his gaze to Kyle.
"Hey," he said.
Kyle swallowed quietly.
"Yeah. Hey."
But he didn't move. For some reason, he just stood there, foolishly frozen in place, as if he couldn't make himself take a single step.
Darren raised an eyebrow slightly and straightened back into his seat, lowering his hand.
A light breeze stirred. The door shifted and began slowly swinging shut. Darren's gaze drifted back to Kyle.
"You getting in?"
Kyle took a deep breath and nodded. He managed to catch the door before it closed completely.
Once he settled into the passenger seat, he immediately felt terribly uncomfortable. His whole body tensed. He was sitting too stiffly, like a taut string.
The car didn't move.
Kyle turned his head and found Darren looking directly at him. There was a faint trace of irritation in his expression — subtle enough to be hard to place.
Darren rested both hands on the steering wheel and tilted his head slightly.
"Forget something?"
"Uh..."
Panic immediately seized Kyle. He instinctively covered the pockets of his hoodie with both hands. His mind raced through a frantic checklist: phone, house keys, headphones...
He definitely hadn't forgotten anything.
Right?
Or...
The gears turning in his head were plainly visible in the crease forming between his brows.
Darren let out a quiet breath. The corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
Without warning, he leaned forward and reached toward Kyle — and Kyle tensed even more, practically turning into one raw nerve.
Darren's hand stopped beside his face.
Kyle held his breath. His chest felt squeezed tight — he simply couldn't inhale.
He opened his mouth:
"What are you do—?"
A rustle of the seatbelt — then a click.
Darren lightly adjusted the now-fastened belt across Kyle's chest and calmly leaned back into his seat.
Kyle stared at him.
"Safety first," Darren said, already looking ahead.
"Yeah..." Kyle mumbled uncertainly. Then, even more quietly: "Thanks."
A second seatbelt clicked into place. Then came the soft creak of the gearshift.
The car finally pulled away.
Before long, the gates were behind them, already closing. A few minutes later, the outline of the mansion disappeared from view.
Only then did Kyle turn his head and look straight ahead.
----------------------------------------
The familiar yet somehow unfamiliar city drifted past outside the window.
Kyle tried to keep his mind blank. He kept his attention fixed on the view outside, so the needles of nerves and emotions he still couldn't make sense of wouldn't spread through his veins.
Glass-and-concrete buildings rose on both sides of the road, only occasionally giving way to strips of trees or open stretches.
People moved through the streets as they always did. Some headed north, others south. Waiting at crosswalks. Talking. Hurrying somewhere.
Constant motion.
The traffic light blinked briefly before turning red. The car slowed, then stopped.
Without meaning to, Kyle glanced toward Darren — and, almost as expected, found him already looking back.
Darren's hand hovered over the center console. He cleared his throat.
"Want me to put some music on?"
Kyle blinked, as if trying to process the question.
"Hm? Music?"
He kept looking at Darren with a strangely vacant expression. Only a few seconds later did he finally come back to himself and nod.
Music gradually filled the car. One of the songs Kyle knew well enough. Letting the guitar wash over him, he turned back toward the window.
The car pulled forward again, the rhythm of its movement passing softly through him.
"You can switch to something else if you want," Darren said after a couple of minutes.
Kyle flinched slightly.
He glanced briefly at his companion for the day, gave a faint smile, and shook his head.
"It's fine like this," he said. "I like what you listen to."
"Good." Darren hummed quietly. "I'm glad."
His attention returned to the road.
The familiar outline of the building soon appeared ahead. Broad and sharp-edged, its cold glass catching the warm autumn light.
The car turned slowly into a half-empty parking lot.
Kyle clenched his fists inside his hoodie pockets and held his breath. His chest tightened — a trembling knot of anxiety seemed to settle inside it, slowly claiming more and more space.
Dim blue light. The scent of saltwater. His mother's small warm hand wrapped gently around his wrist, guiding him forward with quiet certainty.
Glass towered all around them. Behind it, the water pressed outward with its immense depth — almost alive. Silhouettes drifted past as voices carried through the air, merging into one quiet hum.
Everything around him was breathing.
He'd been a little cold. And yet... warm. She was right beside him. And he was safe in a way he had never questioned before.
His mother looked down at him, her lips already forming a word—
"Kyle."
But the voice wasn't hers.
"We're here," Darren said, setting the parking brake.
"Oh…"
Kyle exhaled, as if trying to breathe that knot out along with the air. And something in his expression finally let go.
"Yeah."
He unbuckled his seatbelt. His hand rose, but he hesitated for a second, staring out the window without blinking.
Then he opened the door.
He didn't wait for Darren. He just walked toward the entrance at an unhurried pace, and behind him came the short chirp of the car locking.
He stopped in front of the glass doors and pulled his phone from his pocket.
He didn't get the chance to check it — Darren was already beside him.
"Oh," Darren said.
Kyle frowned.
"What is it?"
"Megan texted."
"And...?"
Kyle gave him an expectant look.
"Is she on her way?"
Darren inhaled through his nose and pressed his lips together. Looking at Kyle with a hint of sympathy, he slowly shook his head.
"She won't be able to make it."
He held out his phone for Kyle to see.
"Says she's going to be buried in work until late tonight. Won't even be able to slip away for a bit."
Kyle read the message carefully. His frown deepened. Then he rolled his eyes and let out a long breath.
He rested a hand on the back of his neck and looked up at Darren.
"... So why did I even come today?" he muttered, barely above a whisper.
Darren slipped his phone into his pocket and shrugged.
"Looks like it's just the two of us today."
Said completely calmly.
Even so, Kyle caught the faint twitch at the corners of his mouth.
He scratched the back of his neck. Pulling on his usual air of indifference, he shrugged as well and gave a short nod.
"Let's go then."