Tender - Come Down When You're Ready | SAFE • 2024 |

A small, tired smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She took a step away from the window, the spell of the heights finally breaking. She walked toward him, her movements fluid and slow, mirroring the tempo of the music.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the dust motes dance in the amber glow of the bedside lamp. Across the room, she was a silhouette against the window, watching the city lights blur into streaks of gold and red. They had been in this state of suspended animation for hours—halfway between staying and leaving. TENDER - Come Down When You're Ready

"Okay," she whispered into the fabric of his jacket. "I'm coming down." A small, tired smile tugged at the corner of her mouth

She didn't turn around, but her reflection in the glass softened. "It’s quiet up here. The ground feels too loud today." He was sitting on the edge of the

"Then we'll stay quiet," Elias promised. "We’ll just sit on the porch and watch the cars go by until the sun comes up. No talking. Just breathing."

The neon sign above the motel buzzed in a low, rhythmic hum that matched the thrumming in Elias’s chest. Inside Room 214, the air was thick with the scent of rain and unsaid words.