Cold Solace

KELLAN’S POV

Guilt, I realized, did not come loudly.

It did not demand attention the way anger did. It did not burn hot or explode outward. Instead, it settled quietly, deeply, in places one could not easily reach, and from there, it lingered.

It followed me out of the house that morning. It sat with me in the car. It stayed, even when I told myself over and over again that I had every right to fe