Julian didn't invite her to sit, but Penelope sat anyway—one step below him, knees tucked to her chest like she needed a shield.
He didn't say much. Neither did she.
But somehow, it wasn't awkward. It was… quiet in a way that made room for thoughts to breathe.
She glanced at his notebook. "You write?"
Julian shrugged. "Sometimes. Mostly nonsense."
"Nonsense is underrated," she said, and he smiled without looking at her.
Penelope didn't understand it—this strange pull toward someone she didn't know. But she felt it. Like standing too close to the ocean. Like holding something breakable and not knowing whether to protect it or drop it just to see what happens.
"What's it about?" she asked, nodding to the notebook again.
He hesitated. "Dreams I forget when I wake up. Things I wish I'd said."up. Things I wish I'd said."
Penelope bit her lip. "That's not nonsense."
Julian looked at her then. Really looked.
"You're not what I expected," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "And what did you expect?"
He paused. "Someone safer."
Penelope almost laughed—but the way he said it made her chest ache. Like he was the one who needed protecting. Like he'd already lost things he didn't know how to talk about.
Before she could reply, thunder rumbled in the distance.
A storm was coming.
"Great," she muttered, standing up.
Julian stood too. "Come on," he said, and opened the back door without askingAnd just like that, she followed him in.