The car hummed softly beneath them, a familiar rhythm that had become almost routine by now. For the third or fourth time—Lena had lost count—they were driving together in the same silence, the dark road stretching ahead, barely lit by the headlights. It was the same path that led to the same cemetery. Same night sky. Same strange sense of anticipation that always hung between them.
Lena glanced out the window, the scenery a blur of shadows. How did this become my life? she thought, half-smiling to herself. A few weeks ago, she was barely scraping by, and now she was playing detective—or was it more than that?
She shifted slightly in her seat, stealing a glance at Antony. He was focused on the road, his face cast in shadows, but there was something different tonight. A tension that wasn't there before. What's going through your head? she wondered, feeling a pull toward him she couldn't quite explain.
"You've done this before, haven't you?" Lena broke the silence, her voice soft but curious.
Antony didn't look at her, but a small, wistful smile tugged at his lips. "Many times."
Lena's heart gave a strange lurch. "With families like that one? Bringing them... closure?"
Antony nodded, the smile fading into something more thoughtful. "Yes. The promises I couldn't keep, I repay in other ways." His eyes flickered with something deeper, something Lena couldn't place. "She... meant a lot to me."
Lena frowned. "The grandmother? You knew her well?"
Antony's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel. He didn't answer right away, and when he spoke, his voice was quieter, more distant. "She was like a daughter to me."
The words hung in the air, and Lena blinked, trying to process them. Like a daughter? She quickly did the math in her head, but it didn't add up. He couldn't have been old enough... could he?
"But... you must have been really young then," Lena said, her tone careful, trying to piece it together without sounding naïve.
Antony chuckled softly, but there was no humor in it. "You'd be surprised at how time works, Miss Carter."
Lena opened her mouth to ask more, but something in the way he looked at her—something almost affectionate, yet distant—made her pause. Time works differently? What does that even mean?
The silence stretched again, more loaded this time. Lena found herself glancing over at him, her heart picking up speed for reasons she couldn't quite understand. There was a heaviness to him tonight, as if the burden of his past weighed more than usual.
"What about you?" Antony's voice cut through her thoughts. "You seem... more comfortable with this life than before."
Lena shrugged, playing it off, though her mind was racing. "I guess I'm getting used to it. It's not like I've got much of a choice, do I?"
Antony glanced at her then, something flickering in his eyes that she couldn't place. "You always have a choice, Lena."
She didn't miss the way he used her first name, and for some reason, it sent a shiver down her spine. "Do I?" she asked, her voice quieter now, softer. "Because sometimes it feels like I'm just being pulled into whatever this is—your world, your... debts."
Antony turned his gaze back to the road, his jaw tightening slightly. "It's not a world I wanted to drag you into."
"But you did." Lena's voice was firm, but there was no accusation in it. Just a simple truth.
Antony sighed, his hand resting lightly on the wheel. "Yes. I did. And for that, I'm sorry."
For some reason, his apology hit harder than Lena expected. She didn't want to admit it, but she had grown attached to him—this strange, brooding man who seemed both ancient and timeless. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something deeper between them. Something that neither of them had put into words yet.
"I don't know why," Lena murmured, more to herself than to him, "but I feel like... like I've known you longer than I actually have. Does that make any sense?"
Antony's grip on the wheel tightened ever so slightly, and he smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Sometimes, the bonds we form are... timeless. But those bonds can be dangerous too."
Lena felt her cheeks warm, a strange flutter in her chest at the way his words seemed to brush so close to something she wasn't ready to face. Is this... affection? She shook the thought away, biting her lip. Don't be ridiculous, Lena.
Before she could dwell on it further, Antony's posture changed—he went rigid, his eyes narrowing at something ahead. Lena followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual, just the road stretching out in front of them. "Antony?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
Without warning, Antony's voice dropped low, filled with urgency. "Lena, hold on."
Before she could even react, he slammed his foot on the brakes, sending the car screeching to a halt. The air seemed to thicken, and in the distance, Lena could now see it—a truck, headlights blazing, careening toward them at a dangerous speed.
"Antony!" Lena cried, her heart racing, adrenaline flooding her veins.
But Antony's calm didn't break. He unbuckled his seatbelt in one swift motion, and before Lena could even process what was happening, he grabbed her arm.
"Jump!" he barked.
In one fluid motion, he yanked her out of the car, and they tumbled into the gravel just as the screeching sound of metal filled the air. Lena's breath was knocked out of her as they hit the ground hard, her body rolling against the cold pavement. She barely had time to think before the impact of the truck hit the car with a deafening crash.
Lena gasped, struggling to catch her breath. She looked up at the wreckage, her head spinning. What just happened?
Antony was beside her, his hand still gripping her arm tightly. His chest rose and fell with controlled breaths, his expression unreadable, but Lena could see the calculation in his eyes.
He pulled her up gently, his voice low and calm. "You're okay."
Lena stared at him, her mind reeling, her pulse racing. "What—how did you —"
But Antony just shook his head, his hand still steadying her. "I believe, It's not over yet."