Chapter 4
Without a second thought, Leo bolted across the room. He moved past his father, whose outstretched hand grasped at empty air, and ran straight toward the doorway. Throwing his arms around Evan’s waist, he buried his face in her dark jumpsuit, hugging her tightly with a desperate, clinging strength. Evan gasped, her crutches clattering loudly against the hardwood floor as she lost her balance for a fleeting second. She caught herself by wrapping her arms around the boy, burying her face in his messy light brown hair, shuddering as a sob finally broke through her disciplined exterior.
In his right hand, Leo clutched his cracked smartphone, the glowing screen pressing firmly against Evan’s side. The device hummed with a persistent vibration, signaling an incoming call that neither of them dared to answer just yet. Arthur took a menacing step forward, his face darkening with rage, but he froze when Evan raised her head, locking her fierce emerald eyes onto his.
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"You didn't finish the job, Arthur," Evan said, her voice shaking but resolute.
Leo squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling the familiar scent of rain and antiseptic that always clung to Evan. This embrace was his only anchor in a world that had gone completely mad. The living room around them felt distant, fading into the background as the reality of their survival solidified. Claire watched them from afar, her eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and helpless resignation. She had known, at least in part, what Arthur was capable of, and her silence had made her an accomplice. But Leo was done being silent. He held onto Evan as if letting go would mean plunging back into the nightmare from which they were only beginning to awake. The cracked smartphone in his grip vibrated again, a relentless electronic heartbeat demanding attention in a room full of broken lives and scattered ashes.
