48
Havoc
“Havoc?”
Dylan.
Something in my chest shifts immediately.
“Hey, kid.”
“Are you still in Nevada?” he says.
“Yeah.”
“You’re coming back, right?”
The words hit harder than anything tonight.
“Yeah,” I say.
My voice is steady.
Even if everything inside me isn’t.
“I am.”
There’s a pause.
Then—
“They came to the house.”
I close my eyes.
“I know.”
“They were shooting real guns.”
His voice is quieter now.
Not scared.
Just… processing.
“You did good,” I tell him.
“You stayed with your mom. You listened.”
Buddy barks in the background.
Dylan huffs a small laugh.
“Buddy almost ate them.”
I almost smile.
“Yeah, I believe that.”