Chapter 22 –
The storm had passed, leaving behind the scent of rain and something metallic in the air. The rooftop, once a battleground of betrayal and violence, was now eerily still. The city below remained oblivious to the war that had just unfolded, its lights flickering like distant stars, indifferent to the lives shattered above.
Subey stood near the edge, her breath steady but her mind a whirlwind. The weight of what had transpired clung to her like the dampness in her clothes. The ache in her muscles reminded her of every brutal moment that had led to this stillness.
Behind her, Caroline stood with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her soaked clothes clinging to her frame. She wasn't shivering from the cold—Subey could tell. She was shivering from something deeper, something that had nothing to do with the rain.
For the longest time, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of the city below and the occasional drip of water from the rooftop's ledge.
Then, Caroline's voice broke through the silence, soft yet heavy.
"What happens now?"
Subey exhaled slowly, considering the weight of the question.
"That depends," she said carefully.
Caroline finally turned to her, her expression unreadable. "On what?"
Subey hesitated, choosing her words. "On whether you still trust me."
Caroline flinched. It was small, but Subey noticed. She looked down at her hands, fingers trembling slightly, as if she was holding onto something invisible but fragile.
"I don't know," Caroline admitted after a long pause. "I want to… but I don't know if I can."
Subey nodded, accepting the truth for what it was. "That's fair."
Another silence stretched between them, but this one wasn't sharp with anger or resentment. It was something else—something fragile, like a thread stretched too thin.
Caroline sighed, brushing a wet strand of hair from her face. "I keep thinking about everything—Mia, John, the lies, the betrayals. And I just… I don't know where to put it all." She let out a small, humorless laugh before glancing at Subey. "Do you?"
Subey's lips pressed into a thin line. "Not even close."
Caroline's faint smile was brief, fading as quickly as it had appeared. "I keep wondering if I was blind this whole time. If I ignored things I should have seen. If I let myself believe in something that was never real."
Subey's chest tightened. "You weren't blind, Caroline. You just had hope. And there's nothing wrong with that."
Caroline's jaw clenched, her arms tightening around herself. "Hope can be dangerous."
Subey knew that all too well. Hope had kept her going, even when she had known, deep down, that things were unraveling. And now, here they were—standing in the wreckage of it all, trying to figure out what was left.
The wind shifted slightly, carrying the scent of wet concrete and something unspoken between them.
Caroline's voice was quieter when she spoke again. "I don't know what to do now."
Subey took a slow breath, then reached into her pocket. Her fingers brushed against something cool and metallic. She pulled it out and held it between her fingers—a small, slightly worn locket.
Caroline's eyes widened slightly. "Where did you get that?"
"Mia dropped it," Subey said, turning the locket over in her fingers. "Before everything happened."
Caroline stared at it, her breath catching. "That was hers."
Subey nodded, then extended it toward her. "I think you should have it."
Caroline hesitated, as if afraid to touch it. Then, slowly, she reached out and took it.
Her fingers curled around the metal, but she didn't open it. She just held it, her thumb brushing over the surface as though trying to absorb whatever history it carried.
A deep breath left her lips, and when she looked up, her expression had softened—just slightly.
"Thank you," she murmured.
Subey only nodded.
For the first time that night, the tension between them seemed to ease. It wasn't gone—there were still too many things left unsaid, too many wounds that wouldn't heal overnight. But there was something else now.
An understanding.
A fragile truce.
Caroline turned the locket over in her fingers. "I used to think she kept secrets in here."
Subey raised an eyebrow. "Did she?"
Caroline hesitated, then finally clicked it open.
Inside was a photograph—aged and slightly faded. It was of two girls, younger, happier, standing side by side. Mia and Subey.
Subey inhaled sharply, caught off guard by the image.
Caroline stared at it for a long moment before tilting the locket toward Subey. "She never forgot you."
Subey swallowed hard. "She had a strange way of showing it."
Caroline sighed. "Maybe she thought she was protecting you, too. Just like you thought you were protecting me."
Subey didn't know how to respond to that.
The city stretched before them, endless and unknowable. The sky, once raging with lightning and thunder, had begun to clear. A faint glow on the horizon hinted at the coming dawn.
They had survived the night.
But what came next?
Caroline closed the locket and slipped it into her pocket. She looked at Subey one last time, searching her face for something neither of them could name.
Finally, she spoke. "I need time."
Subey nodded. "Take all the time you need."
Caroline held her gaze a second longer, then turned and walked toward the rooftop exit.
Subey stayed where she was, watching as Caroline disappeared down the stairwell.
She turned back toward the city, staring at the horizon.
She had won.
She had survived.
But why did it feel like she had lost everything?
The wind whispered against her skin.
The storm had passed.
But the silence it left behind was even louder.