Jess placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "Sometimes, the ones closest to us have motives we can't see. You're not in this alone."
"Let's go. It getting late. Did you both drive here?" Zack interrupted and asked.
"Yes, we did," Nia answered swiftly as she adjusted his jacket which was too big for her.
"C'mon, I will follow you back home and then will leave." Zack motioned them toward the exit door.
As they stepped out into the night air, a quietness settled over them, the kind that comes after a storm. The cool breeze felt like a balm, soothing Nia's frayed nerves after the whirlwind evening. Jess's reassuring hand on her arm had helped, but it was Zack's strong presence that had grounded her, pulling her back from the edge of chaos and saving the day like a knight in shining armour.
