The sun was setting by the time they finally left the amusement park. The sky was painted in warm hues of orange and pink, the air cooler now, carrying the lingering scent of fried food and sugar.
Rea walked beside Aster, the stuffed bear he won for her tucked under her arm. Her legs ached from walking, her stomach still a little queasy from the roller coaster, but she felt… light.
Lighter than she had in weeks.
Aster shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing at her. "Admit it. That was the most fun you've had in your entire, painfully boring life."
Rea snorted. "Not my entire life."
Aster smirked. "But it's up there."
She hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. It is."
Aster looked at her for a second longer, something flickering in his expression, before he turned his attention back to the road.
They walked in comfortable silence, the sounds of the amusement park fading behind them.
Rea hugged the stuffed bear closer, glancing at Aster out of the corner of her eye.
It was strange.
Seeing him like this.
Relaxed.
Forgetting, just for a little while, about all the things weighing on him.
But reality was already creeping back in, and she could feel it.
The way Aster's shoulders tensed the closer they got to home.
The way his smirk wasn't quite as sharp anymore.
The way his hands curled into fists when he thought she wasn't looking.
Rea took a slow breath.
It wasn't her place to ask.
But that had never stopped her before.
"Aster."
He didn't look at her. "Yeah?"
She hesitated. "Are you… okay?"
Aster let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Loaded question, Jones."
"I know."
He kicked a small rock on the pavement, watching it skid ahead of them. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"Say the truth."
Aster sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know the truth."
Rea frowned. "You don't know, or you don't want to say it?"
Aster's jaw tightened.
Silence stretched between them.
For a moment, she thought he wasn't going to answer.
Then, finally, in a quiet voice, he said, "Today felt… different."
Rea tilted her head. "Different how?"
Aster exhaled, staring at the sky. "Like maybe—for a second—I wasn't completely screwed."
Rea's chest tightened.
She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but before she could, Aster stopped walking.
She turned to him, confused. "Aster?"
Aster was staring straight ahead, shoulders stiff.
Rea followed his gaze, and her stomach twisted.
There was someone standing in front of their house.
A man.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. A presence that sent a shiver down Rea's spine.
He turned slightly, and even from a distance, she could see it—the resemblance.
Aster went rigid beside her.
Rea barely had time to register what was happening before he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.
"Get inside." His voice was low. Sharp.
Rea's pulse spiked. "Aster—"
"Now."
She hesitated.
But the look in his eyes—cold. Guarded. Afraid—made her listen.
She turned and ran for the house, her heart pounding against her ribs.
And just before she slipped inside, she heard it.
A voice.
Deep. Unfamiliar.
"Aster."
Rea slammed the door shut behind her, pressing her back against it.
Her breath came fast, her mind spinning.
Who was he?
Who was that man?
And why did Aster look like he was staring at a ghost?