Of course, he could've moved aside. Slipped into one of the quieter corners, waited it out away from the wreckage and the dwindling crowd. But he didn't.
Not yet.
Because this wasn't something you just walked away from.
He stayed, first and foremost, because the authorities hadn't arrived yet. And this wasn't a minor fender-bender — it was serious. One car totaled. A man still slumped behind the wheel, motionless, his condition unknown. Smoke still curling from the crumpled hood like the last breath of something barely hanging on.
Rex wasn't a cop, but he knew better than to walk away from a scene like this. Someone had to be present. Someone had to answer questions when the flashing lights eventually arrived.
And secondly… the girl.
Still clinging to his chest like he was the only solid thing in a world that had just flipped upside down.
