⸻
She walked up to the stop a few minutes later and boarded the school bus exactly like she always did.
The moment it pulled away, I followed at a careful distance, my heart pounding harder than I expected it to for something this ordinary.
⸻
When the bus reached the school and stopped along the curb, Sienna got off with the other kids, backpack still on her shoulder, moving like she was headed straight for the front doors.
But she didn’t go inside.
⸻
She stayed near the bus stop instead, checking her phone, glancing occasionally down the street like she was waiting for something specific.
Then an old, faded blue pickup truck pulled up to the curb.
⸻
Sienna didn’t hesitate for even a second. She opened the passenger door and climbed in like it was the most ordinary routine in the world.
For a moment, I genuinely couldn’t breathe.
