Tender - Come Down When You're Ready -

"Then we'll stay quiet," Elias promised. "We’ll just sit on the porch and watch the cars go by until the sun comes up. No talking. Just breathing."

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the dust motes dance in the amber glow of the bedside lamp. Across the room, she was a silhouette against the window, watching the city lights blur into streaks of gold and red. They had been in this state of suspended animation for hours—halfway between staying and leaving.

"Okay," she whispered into the fabric of his jacket. "I'm coming down." TENDER - Come Down When You're Ready

The neon sign above the motel buzzed in a low, rhythmic hum that matched the thrumming in Elias’s chest. Inside Room 214, the air was thick with the scent of rain and unsaid words.

The album Come Down When You’re Ready spun on a small portable player they’d dragged from the car. The bass was a steady heartbeat, a tether to the physical world. Elias stood up, his joints protesting the stillness. He didn't approach her; he knew the boundaries of her orbit. Instead, he leaned against the wall, matching her gaze toward the horizon. "Then we'll stay quiet," Elias promised

She didn't turn around, but her reflection in the glass softened. "It’s quiet up here. The ground feels too loud today."

A small, tired smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She took a step away from the window, the spell of the heights finally breaking. She walked toward him, her movements fluid and slow, mirroring the tempo of the music. Just breathing

When she finally reached him, she didn't take his hand. Instead, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder, letting out a breath she seemed to have been holding since yesterday.