"The quiet ones scream the loudest when they finally break."
The candle flickered on the coffee table; Small flame, quiet room, shadows stretching long against the office walls. It smelled like white cedar and something faintly sweet, and for the first time tonight, I realised how warm the space felt.
Warm... but not hot.
Not the kind of heat that lived in my nightmares.
Sophie sat across from me; her expression softer after everything she had shared. She looked like she was about to stand, maybe to get back to work or give me space.
Maybe I should've let her.
But something inside me... something that had been locked down for years, shifted.
"Wait," I said before I could stop myself.
She paused, brows lifting slightly.
"There's something," I said quietly, fingers curling against my knees. "Something that might... help me. Or explain things better."
Her eyes didn't push. Didn't pry.
Just waited.
So I finally opened the door I had kept shut for so long. "It was the fire," I began. My voice sounded foreign, scraped raw. "The night my parents died."
The candlelight danced across the ceiling as memories rose, uninvited and merciless.
"We were driving on a clear road. Nothing strange. Nothing unusual. I was driving, my dad was in the passenger seat, my mom in the backseat." My breath trembled. "And then the car screeched. Like something slammed against us."
My hands tightened, knuckles whitening.
"There was a hedge. Or a stone. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. We hit it, the car spun, and we crashed against a wall." A pause. "Then it blew up. From behind."
Sophie's eyes widened, but she didn't interrupt.
"One second, it was quiet. The next..." I swallowed hard. "The whole car burst. I don't remember the sound. Just the heat. Like it wrapped around me. Like it wanted to swallow everything."
The scent of smoke wasn't here, but I felt it in my lungs.
"I was thrown out. Unconscious for God knows how long. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was my dad." I blinked slowly. "His face... he was gone. And I couldn't get to my mom in time."
My voice cracked.
"I should've saved them."
Sophie's expression softened; understanding, not pity.
She inhaled slowly. "That's why you don't drink anything hot, or avoid hot things. Why you freeze up when the temperature rises."
I didn't answer. I didn't need to.
The truth hung between us.
"I went to jail," I said quietly. "Only for a couple of months. They thought it was my fault. Negligence. Rage. Reckless Driving. I don't know what they made up. But they released me because there was nothing that proved I did anything wrong."
A bitter smile tugged at my mouth.
"Didn't matter. I blamed myself anyway."
Sophie was quiet... thoughtful, focused.
Then she said something that made my chest tighten. "Grey... where exactly did the blast come from?"
"The back," I answered immediately.
"And the media said it was from the-," she whispered.
"Front" I nodded. "I know."
"And no one questioned that? That means someone tampered with the car... and the story."
Her voice trembled slightly... not in fear, but anger. For me.
I looked away. "I just don't know who," I admitted. My breath hitched. "Or why."
My eyes stung suddenly, and I blinked hard, but it didn't stop the burn.
"It was my fault," I whispered, voice cracking. "I miss them so much. They didn't deserve—"
I couldn't finish.
Sophie moved quietly, not making a scene of it. She came to sit beside me, her presence steady, grounded. She didn't grab me or hug me... just laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, tapping once, soft and reassuring.
"It wasn't your fault," she said, voice soft but firm. "None of this was on you."
Something in me finally broke.
I leaned forward, forehead resting lightly against her shoulder.
Just for a minute.
Just until the shaking stopped.
She didn't move away. Didn't tense...
She simply stayed, letting me exist in whatever this moment was.
After a long breath, I sighed. "I'm supposed to be the bodyguard," I muttered, laughing weakly. "The strongest one between us."
Sophie looked at the candle. "You still are," she said softly.
Then, without shifting away from me, she leaned forward slightly and blew it out. The flame vanished, a thin trail of smoke curling upward.
The room fell into shadow, but somehow... it felt lighter. Like the dark wasn't closing in.
Like, maybe for once, it was giving us space to breathe.