Chapter 18 Anchored In The Dark

• Max***
• The hum of the car filled the silence, steady and rhythmic, masking the turmoil beneath my calm exterior. Sara rested in my arms, her slight frame limp and fragile, yet her presence seemed to consume every inch of space around me. Her face, pale and serene, tilted slightly against my chest, but the tension in her fingers, even in unconsciousness, betrayed her unrest.
• I tightened my hold on her, cradling her closer as the road wound through the darkness. Each mile we traveled pulled us further from the chaos I was desperate to escape. Somewhere far from prying eyes and meddling voices, a place I could protect her—from others and from herself. Yet, the gnawing doubt whispered that maybe it wasn’t the world she feared, but me.