This time, we walked side by side. No protective arm around me—though I didn’t need it anymore. I’d pulled myself back together and was firmly on my own two feet again.

At some point, Raven had slung both our bags over his shoulders—mine included. I noticed, of course. It was glaringly obvious. But for once, I didn’t protest. It felt oddly... nice. Like a silent truce I wasn’t quite ready to break.

Just like he’d said, it only took a few minutes before we reached the front door of my apartment building. He stepped ahead slightly, then turned and handed me my bag. “There you go. Home sweet home.” He said in a low voice while offering me my backpack. I took it quietly and started rummaging through the front pocket of the bag to find my keys, suddenly hyper-aware of his gaze tracking every little movement I made.

When I finally fished them out, I looked up and pointed the jingling keyring at him like it was some kind of warning.
“Don’t get used to this. I’m legally obligated to find you annoying at least twice a day.”
I looked at him challengingly, eyebrows raised.

But he just held my gaze, silent and unreadable.

“I still think you’re a walking, talking cautionary tale with fluff—Sir Stalker Supreme,” I said, my tone less venom and more mischief. A smirk tugged at my lips. “But, you know… in a weirdly tolerable way today.”
A wide grin spread across Raven’s face. Then he burst into laughter—loud, unrestrained, and annoyingly delighted, just like every other time I’d called him one of my ridiculous nicknames.

“What’s so funny!?” I huffed, but my lips were already betraying me with a twitch.

Still chuckling, he tilted his head slightly. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Wildcard.” His voice dropped just enough to make my stomach do a ridiculous little flip.

I screamed internally. Control yourself, Miri.

He was standing in front of the few steps that led to the main entrance like he owned them—legs slightly apart, arms folded, grinning like I was the most interesting thing he’d seen all day. 

I jabbed the jingling keys in his direction again. “Are you going to keep loitering like a haunted mannequin, or will you let me into my own building?”
His grin widened. “Only if you promise to keep calling me outrageous names.”
I narrowed my eyes as I stepped past him, close enough that my shoulder brushed his arm. “Careful, Stalkzilla. You might start to enjoy the abuse.”

He leaned just a little closer, voice low. “Who says I haven’t already?”

My heart staged a tiny, unapproved tap dance.

Trying to look supremely unaffected (and probably failing), I climbed the few steps to the door, shoved the key in, and unlocked it—conscious of his gaze still following me like a heat lamp.
I suddenly froze. Something soft tugged at my shoulders.

Wait.

My eyes dropped to the fabric still wrapped around me.

Oh shit.

Like a punch in the face I just realised that the jacket Raven has draped around my shoulders before was actually his.

And I’d been swanning around in it like some lovestruck rom-com extra. Heat flushed my cheeks.

I turned halfway back toward him, my hand still on the door handle. “Uh—your jacket,” I mumbled, already peeling it off. “Thanks. For, you know… earlier. And… this.”

Smooth, Miri. So articulate. Surely the gods of wit were applauding.

He stepped forward, taking it from me gently—his fingers brushing mine for a heartbeat too long.

“You can keep it if you want,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Nope!” I said quickly, shoving it into his hands like it was on fire. “Definitely not trying to smell like haunted mannequins and testosterone all weekend.”

He laughed again, soft this time, and held the jacket to his chest like I’d just handed him a national treasure.

“Well,” I muttered, trying not to sound like I’d melted a little inside, “good night, Raven.”

He gave me that grin again—the unfair one with the eyes and everything. “Sleep well, Miri.”

I ducked my head, bit the inside of my cheek to hide the smile threatening to give me away, and slipped inside before I could do something truly humiliating, like trip over the doormat or swoon.

Behind me, the door clicked shut.

And just like that, I was alone again.

But not quite in the same way I had been before.
As soon as I stepped into the apartment, Kim came racing toward me.

Why was she still awake? Her tired eyes gave her away—she must’ve been up way past her bedtime. Was she waiting for me?

“Mom! Miri’s back from her training!” she shouted toward the kitchen.

I could hear my mom clinking something in there.

To be honest, I was exhausted, too. The training, the emotional chaos, the dad incident, the crying... My body felt like a deflated balloon.

Kim and I headed to the kitchen together. Mom was sitting at the table reading the TV guide. I sank down onto a chair next to her. She glanced up, finally noticing me.

“Hey, honey. Did training run late today?” she asked, her gaze settling on me.

‘Super Miri’ mode: activated. I gave her my brightest, most convincing smile.

“Yeah, we went to a park—it was great,” I said enthusiastically, waving off the weariness weighing down my limbs. “When it started raining half way through the training, we had to pause for a bit though. Huddled like wet squirrels under some overhang near a food stall. Super glamorous.”

I threw in a dramatic eye roll for flair.

“Then it cleared up, and we figured we might as well keep going. Didn’t want all that stretching and motivational yelling to go to waste.”
Mom stood up and slid a plate in front of me. “Thought you might be starving,” she said, like it wasn’t a big deal. “Potato hash and scrambled eggs. Still warm.”

I blinked at her, almost emotional. The smell alone made my knees weak.

“Thanks,” I murmured, already shoveling a forkful into my mouth like I hadn’t seen food in a year.

Kim giggled, clearly picturing something silly. My mom raised an eyebrow but smiled.

And then Kim decided to ruin everything.

“Who was that boy with you?” she asked, her voice curious and innocent.

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I turned to her, eyes wide in panic.
“Whaft the… wsho now?!” I squeaked, and a bit of egg launching itself sideways out of my mouth.

She hadn’t actually seen him… had she?

“I'm sorry,” my mom said, shrugging a little. “She just refused to go to bed. Said she wanted to wait for you.”

“Was that your boyfriend, Miri?" Kim chirped, tilting her head like an overly curious puppy.

I shot her a look that clearly said: Drop it or you're getting brussels sprouts for life. Then shook my head slowly and firmly. Where did she even get the idea of boyfriends from?
“He looked very handsome,” my mum said cheerfully, and I turned to look at her. My ears and neck felt way too hot all of a sudden. They couldn’t be serious. Did they actually think Raven was my boyfriend? But I didn’t feel like explaining it. Not tonight. Wrestling with myself, I searched desperately for an excuse.

Just as I found something half-decent and was about to say it, my backpack started buzzing—like a wasp trapped in a soda can. Startled, I jumped slightly and fumbled for the front pocket, where I’d stuffed both my dignity and my phone earlier.

"Uh—no. He’sh not my—he jusht walkt me, and the pota—potatoesh were tottly not… undahcookt—wait, wha?!" I blurted out through a mouthful of hash, cheeks puffed out like a stressed-out hamster mid-heist.

I finally yanked the phone free, like a magician pulling a rabbit from a very judgmental hat. Cassy’s name lit up the screen and I let out a dramatic sigh of relief after swallowing my food down.

“Oh thank god—Cassy,” I rattled off while grabbing my plate in one hand. Then I wedged the phone between my cheek and shoulder, and slung my backpack over the other arm.“This is about tomorrow! Very important. Not dying. Not marrying anyone. Not moving to Canada. Just getting a job!”

I bent down and pressed a quick kiss onto Kim’s sleepy head. “’Night, mini-me,” I whispered.

Then to Mom, with a half-grin and a very Miri thumbs-up: “Love you.”

Balancing my dinner, phone, and bag like a one-woman circus act, I shuffled down the hall and vanished into my room.

“Hi Cassy,” I said at last, breathless, as I kicked the door shut with my foot and flopped onto my bed, plate and all. 

“Hey, Miri,” came her familiar voice through the speaker.

We went over everything about tomorrow’s trip while I finished my dinner. I explained exactly where I lived since she’d be picking me up in the morning. She listed the things I’d need to bring—some documents, random essentials, the usual. Once we had the important stuff out of the way, we chatted a bit about our day. Of course, I didn’t mention anything about my dad. Or Raven. I’d had enough of both topics for one day. Maybe I’d tell her tomorrow. But right now, I just wanted to stay in this calm little distraction bubble.

Sleepiness hit me faster than a boxer going for a K.O. I said goodbye to Cassy and promised we’d see each other tomorrow.

I put my phone and the empty plate on the desk and shuffled off to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Teeth: brushed. Shower: quick. Pyjamas: on. Done. I padded back into my room and pulled out my school bag. I wanted to sort through my things quickly—some of them had probably gotten damp from the rain earlier.

After dumping everything out onto the desk, a small, folded piece of paper slid out last. Huh. What was that?

Frowning, I picked it up and inspected it. Just a regular yellow scrap of paper—except something was written on it. In bold block letters. And underneath it, a phone number.

"FOR THE NEXT TIME YOU STORM OFF LIKE A SPY ON A MISSION... AND I’M NOT IN POSITION TO TAIL YOU."

—Agent 00R Stalker

Next to the sign off was a winking smiley with its tongue poking out. I blinked at the note in disbelief. Why was that kind of adorable and creative? No. No it was not. Shut up, brain.

Shaking my head, too tired to process how and when Raven had the time to hide that piece of paper in my backpack, I shoved it into the drawer of my desk and crawled into bed.

Seconds later, I was out cold, with a smile on my face despite the mysterious appearance of my father.