That night, Austin and I decided not to stay on base.
Neither of us said it out loud, but the tension there had turned thick and suffocating. Ever since Owen’s arrival, the place felt wrong, like the ground itself was waiting for something to explode. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him longer than I had to. Austin felt it too. I could tell by the way his jaw stayed tight, by how he kept scanning the perimeter like he expected trouble to step out of the shadows.
So we got dressed, grabbed our things, and climbed into Austin’s car.
He drove while I gave directions, guiding him out of town and toward the quieter edge where streetlights thinned and the trees pressed closer to the road. The farther we got from base, the easier it was to breathe. The night air smelled cleaner here, damp ea
