Queen POV
The boot was big and ugly.
That didn't change, even after the doctor confirmed it wasn't anything too serious—just a fracture, nothing that needed a full cast. Just rest, the boot, and "taking it easy," which sounded nice in theory but didn't exactly fit into my life.
"You hear that?" Jessica said as we stepped out of the clinic, her keys jingling in her hand. "You're not dying. Big win."
I huffed a quiet laugh, adjusting my balance as the boot hit the pavement heavier than I liked. "Debatable."
She rolled her eyes but reached out anyway, steadying me as we walked toward her car.
"You always gotta be dramatic?"
"I almost died yesterday."
"You fell," she corrected, opening the passenger door for me. I stayed silent, easing myself into the seat carefully.
She waited until I was settled before closing the door, then walked around to the driver's side. Once she got in, she didn't start the car right away. She just looked at me for a second—really looked.
"So what actually happened?" she asked, her tone calm but curious. "Because that," she nodded toward my foot, "doesn't look like a simple misstep."
I leaned my head back against the seat, staring up at the ceiling for a second before answering.
"I was walking home. It was dark. I didn't see where I was stepping."
"That's it?"
"That's it." She held my gaze a second longer, like she was deciding whether to push. Then she didn't.
"Alright," she said finally, starting the car. "Next time, don't take the woods."
"Trust me," I muttered, "that's not happening again."
****************
The ride to Demi's school was quiet after that, safe for the occasional conversations Demi was having with his action figures.
Jessica kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting loosely near the gear shift, glancing at me every now and then like she was still trying to piece something together. I pretended not to notice, focusing instead on the way my ankle throbbed with every bump in the road.
"I can walk him in," she said as she pulled up to the curb.
"I've got it," I replied, already reaching for the door.
She gave me a look. "With that boot?"
"I'm not sending him in without a proper goodbye." For a second, it seemed like she might argue—but instead, she just sighed and got out, coming around to my side again.
"Stubborn," she muttered, helping me out anyway.
Demi's hand slipped out of mine the second we reached the sidewalk, small and warm and completely unaware of how close everything had come to going very wrong.
"Love you, Mommy!" he called as he ran toward the building, turning back just long enough for me to catch his toothy grin.
"Love you too," I said softly. The routine was back to normal, like nothing had happened.
The drive home was a blur after that. Soon, Jessica was pulling up in front of my house and parking her car.
"You sure you don't want me to stay a bit?"
"I'm good," I said, reaching for the door handle.
"You don't look good."
"I look tired," I corrected. "There's a difference."
She didn't argue, but I could feel her eyes on me as I stepped out and adjusted my balance.
"Call me if you need anything," she said.
"I will."
"And Queen?" I glanced back.
"Seriously. Be careful."
Something about the way she said it made my chest tighten.
"Yeah," I said softly. "I will."
The house was quiet when I got inside.
No cartoons. No little footsteps. No chatter.
Just silence.
I locked the door behind me, then checked it again without thinking, my fingers lingering on the knob a second longer than necessary.
"You're doing too much," I muttered, pushing myself toward the couch.
But even as I said it, I couldn't shake the feeling.
Like something was just… off. Like the quiet wasn't empty—it was waiting. I sat down slowly, propping my foot up on a pillow and letting out a long breath.
"Just rest," I told myself. "You got work later."
Normal. Everything needed to be normal.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, bracing myself for what I expected would come next, for the woods, for the fear, for the memory of dirt beneath my hands and something hunting me in the dark, but when the silence settled in, it wasn't that night that filled my thoughts. Instead, it was him.
The cowboy.
I frowned slightly, confused by how easily my mind drifted in that direction, because out of everything I should have been thinking about, out of everything that should have been replaying over and over again, it was his presence that stayed the clearest. I could still see him standing in that diner, calm in a way that didn't feel forced, like nothing around him had the power to shake him, like the tension in the room had already lost before it even began.
Calm was anything but my life right now, and maybe that was why he stood out so much.
There was something about the way he carried himself that I couldn't ignore, something steady and controlled that didn't demand attention but commanded it anyway, and I found myself drawn to it in a way I didn't quite understand. He hadn't tried to make a scene, hadn't needed to raise his voice or prove anything to anyone, and yet he had stepped in without hesitation, interrupting everything with a quiet confidence that made it clear he already knew how it would end.
My chest tightened slightly as I thought about it, about how easily he had handled the situation, about how he had looked at Manny like none of it mattered, like he wasn't impressed, like he wasn't even slightly concerned about how things could have escalated.
"He just showed up," I murmured softly to myself, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Saved me, and then left like it didn't mean anything at all.
I let out a small breath, shaking my head just slightly at myself because it was ridiculous, honestly, the way my thoughts kept circling back to him, the way something about him lingered longer than it should have, especially after everything that had happened. But still, I couldn't deny it. If I saw him again, I wouldn't let the moment pass me by.
Sleep crept in slowly after that, soft and quiet, pulling me under before I could question it.