Caleb's POV
Mason and I stand guard outside the bathroom door, waiting for Riley to emerge from her shower. She managed to sleep last night, though the restless tossing and haunted expressions that crossed her face told us her dreams were anything but peaceful. The dark circles under her eyes remain like permanent shadows.
"She spoke today," Mason murmurs, his voice barely audible in the quiet hallway.
I nod, feeling a cautious flutter of hope in my chest. "It's progress. Slow, but something's shifting."
The words hang between us, neither wanting to voice our shared fear that this fragile breakthrough might crumble as quickly as it appeared. We've been walking on eggshells for weeks now, watching Riley retreat further into herself after the nightmare of losing her mother.
