After wandering through countless shops, drifting from one bright storefront to another, pausing at glass displays filled with clothes, accessories, and small trinkets that Chloe would excitedly point at, and even spending time at the arcade where laughter replaced silence, the day slowly moved forward without Ghost even realizing how quickly time was passing.
For the first time in his life, there was no ticking clock in his mind tied to danger, no calculated movement, no constant awareness of exits and threats, no hidden weapon in his hand or a plan forming behind his calm expression.
Instead, there was something unfamiliar.
Something light.
Something warm.
They had walked side by side through the mall, sometimes talking, sometimes simply existing in comfortable silence, and every now and then Chloe would pull him toward something new, her energy uncontainable, her presence impossible to ignore.
Ghost followed.
Not because he had to.
But because he wanted to.
