Page 34 of Sage Haven

But one detail remained sharp.

Sharper than it had any right to be.

The melody.

It threaded itself through the haze, a haunting refrain looping over and over inside my head until I couldn’t take it anymore. Until I had to just leave.

It threatened to pull me back to the night everything changed—the second my world had tilted beneath me and never quite righted itself again.

A weight pressed against my chest.

I gasped, struggling against it, but there was no relief.

No breath.

Only the melody but it was somehow also clouded by the memory of him.

His face emerged from the fog, cutting through it like a blade.

A man with dark eyes and what seemed like even darker intentions.

A man who had stood like an immovable force in a world that refused to stay still.

I tried to follow the thread of memory, but it unraveled in my hands.

Flashing lights. The crush of bodies. The pulse of music thudding louder and louder until it felt like my heartbeat.

And then… just him.

"You shouldn’t take what isn’t yours.” His voice was low and unforgiving.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the memories of him clung to me and started to trickle back.

His hand on mine, strong but careful.

His arm around my shoulders.

The way his presence had steadied me when everything else had spun out of control.

Not even the music could accomplish that.

Not the crowd of people and feeling of community.

Not even Sam, my best friend.

Just him.

A man I hadn’t even known until that night and yet, he’d been the only thing holding me together in one of my most fragile moments.

***

Later, I met Sam at the café before my shift.

I needed normal.

I needed something grounding.

Java-dence was always busy at this hour and there was something comforting about the noise—the soft hiss of the espresso machine, the clatter of cups against saucers, the low hum of conversations blending into white noise. It smelled like roasted beans, vanilla and something warmer, something softer that just drew you into its comforting atmosphere.