~Ethan's POV
She obeyed, her boots squelching in the water, and I crouched slightly, inspecting the tyre without touching it, not quite ready to help her. I could see the wet lines running down her arms, the way her clothes clung to her, the slight shiver running through her frame. Something in me wanted to shake off the cold, to reach out, to fix this, not just the tyre, but the chaos she carried with her every time she showed up in my world.
"Are you… always this unlucky?" I asked, half to myself, half to her. The words were dry, but I could hear the small lilt of curiosity in my own voice.
She opened her mouth, hesitated, then said, "I… I don't know. Maybe." Her voice was small, a fragile thing drowned by the storm.
