Beneath His Shadow
olden fragments dancing across the pavement. The hum of campus life buzzed in the background, distant conversations, fo
tension radiating from her was unmistakable. I kept a respectful distance beside her, careful n
so fast," I said lightly
ne was sharp, but there was a
out missing a beat. "I pre
rsistent, all right. Showing up here lik
aid, slipping my hands into my pock
pavement with more force than necessary. "Right. And I suppose
e corner of my lips. "M
, jerking her step. I instinctively reached out,
," she sa
that doesn't mean you ha
he breeze toyed with it. "And what exactly do you think I need help with, Zain?" Her voice was quiet
g. "Trust me, Sofia. Pity's the la
g, but she didn't respond. We crossed a small courtyard where students lounged on benches and be
ast, her voice soft but strained. "I do
o change that,"
on't," she
uld have, but I didn't back down.
ds were there, just waiting to be spoken. But instead, she kept walking, her cane sweepi
I said, half-amus
" she countered w
But stubbornness recognize
out by sheer will. But the flush along her cheekbones and the tight se
lecting the amber hues of autumn leaves. Sofia paused at the base of
ow me inside," she said
kno
ned with the weight of unsaid things-questions, doubts, t
er than any look I'd ever received. "This... whatever this is... it's n
ir between us seemed to hum with a tension neither of us could deny. "Before I
her lips parting,
d, my voice low and unwavering. "And I don't scare easy. So... unless you reall
hatever war raged inside her. Then, before I could say anothe
losed behind her, my pulse drummi
his would be
just how persi