(Darius)
The game had been going on for a while now. Laughter filled the air, and for once, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Even I was starting to relax a little. The storm was still raging outside, but at least we weren’t sitting in silence, waiting for something bad to happen.
Emma was curled up beside me, completely focused on her cards. I didn’t even need to look at her to know she was smiling. I could hear it in her voice, see it in the way her shoulders were loose instead of tense. It made me feel better, knowing she wasn’t stressing over the storm like I was.
I glanced at her, noticing how comfortable she looked. She had the blanket pulled up around her, her hair a little messy from where she had been leaning against the couch. She looked so small like that. So... fragile.
