The moment I pick it up, something in my chest unclenches. The guitar feels more like home than any place I've ever lived. My fingers find their place on the strings without thought, muscle memory deeper than conscious choice. The first notes vibrate through wood and bone, and suddenly, I'm breathing easier than I have all day.

Music fills the empty bar like water filling cracks, seeping into every shadow and corner. Each chord pulls me deeper into myself, into that quiet place where everything makes sense. Time loses its grip here—there's only the rhythm, the melody, the conversation between strings and silence.

Until my phone shatters the peace with Nora's ringtone.

"Hey, you," I answer, voice rough with unspoken words.

"Nate?" Camilla's voice crackles through, sharp with panic. "Nora needs you. She's freaking out—you need to come and get her, like right fucking now."

I'm on my feet before she finishes speaking, adrenaline flooding my system like ice water. "What happened?"

"Fucking Farrah happened," she spits, a story in those three words that makes my stomach drop.

The guitar finds its resting place as I snatch my keys. "I'm on my way."

I end the call, and my feet carry me toward the door, every heartbeat hammering out Nora's name.

Nick appears in my path, concern etched across his features. "Everything okay?"

"I don't know." The words taste like fear. "I need to go. Nora⁠⁠—"

He steps aside without hesitation. "Go."

The engine roars to life under my hands, a reflection of the storm building in my chest. As I tear out of the lot, memories of the last time Nora needed me—and I wasn't there—claw at the edges of my mind. I made a promise then, written in the scars of regret: never again.

This time would be different.

This time, I'd be there.

Even if I'm rushing blindly into whatever chaos awaits.

62. Three Words, None Of Them I Love You

CHAPTER 62

THREE WORDS, NONE OF THEM I LOVE YOU

NORA

The air claws at my lungs, each breath shallower than the last. The fluorescent bathroom lights slice through my vision, too bright, too harsh against the growing darkness at the edges. My hands grip the sink like it's the only thing keeping me from drowning in the tide of panic rising in my chest.

Through the chaos of my thoughts, I hear his voice—the one sound that's always been able to reach me.

"Where is she?"

Nate's frantic tone cuts through the static in my head, and for a heartbeat, the suffocating feeling lifts. The door flies open, and there he is, filling the door frame with a presence that's both familiar and commanding. He crosses the space between us in three long strides, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Nora." His voice is steel wrapped in velvet.