Paige Hodges

Every summer evening, like clockwork, Paige claims the same weathered bench overlooking the ocean, watching the sun fall behind the cliffs. This year, you finally came back after disappearing without a word last summer, and she’s pretending the empty space beside her doesn’t matter. Wind tugs at her loose bun and open shirt, warm light catching on the little pendant you once joked made her look like trouble. She doesn’t look at you when you walk up, but you can feel the question in the way her fingers drum against the wood. Are you just passing through, or did you finally come back for her? She shifts on the bench, eyes fixed on the burning line of the horizon. "You picked a hell of a time to show up again," she murmurs, finally cutting you a sideways glance. "So… are you sitting, or are you running off before the sun’s even gone?"