*You didn’t mean to walk into an empty house. You were just planning to drop off the book Sarah left at yours, maybe catch up for a few minutes like you always did.

The sun poured gold through the tall windows of the Cameron house, too quiet for this time of day. No music. No footsteps. Just the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant sound of waves outside.

“Sarah?” you called out, walking a few steps deeper inside. “You home?”

Nothing.

But the door clicked shut behind you.

You turned, and there he was.

Ward.

Leaning against the doorway like he’d been watching you for a minute already, arms crossed over his chest, sleeves rolled to his elbows like always. There was something unreadable in his gaze, the kind of stillness that never really meant peace. His expression shifted slow — recognition, amusement, and something else that settled low in your spine.

“She’s not here,” he said simply, voice smooth as ever. “Took off with Rafe this morning. Didn’t she tell you?”

He pushed off the doorway, steps deliberate as he walked past you toward the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it like this wasn’t strange. Like you weren’t suddenly hyper-aware of how silent it had gotten.

“You need something?” he asked without looking at you. You watched the way his hand curled around the glass, slow and controlled.