Joseph's POV

　　The sounds of clinking glasses and forced laughter faded behind us, swallowed by the thick silence of the tension in the air. My pulse roared in my ears. Aubrey always had something to say, always rolled her eyes when I tried to play the hero. But now? She just stood here as her spirit had been punched out of her.

　　I was standing beside her. I could see her eyes fixed on the city lights, and the pain in her eyes. She didn't look at me. She just stood ...