The ride home felt longer than it should have. The taxi’s heater hummed softly, doing a poor job of chasing away the cold clinging to Elena’s coat and skin. She leaned her forehead against the window, watching the city slip by in streaks of snow-melt and amber light. Her thoughts were scattered with Nate’s words, his eyes, and the silence they’d left between them. It all pressed against her chest like a weight she couldn’t quite shift.

  By the time the cab pulled up in front of her apartment building, exhaustion had settled deep in her bones.

  She didn’t even bother to check her phone. She just wanted to get upstairs, fall face-first into her sheets, and pretend the world didn’t exist for a few hours.

  But life, unpredictable as ever, had different plans.

  Because there, sitting cross-legged just outside her apartment door, was a girl wrapped in a pale pink hoodie, surrounded by two suitcases and a leopard-print duffel bag that looked twice her size.

  Elena stopped in her tracks, blinked.

  “…Clara?”

  The girl looked up, flashing the guiltiest smile Elena had ever seen. “Surprise?”

  Elena stepped closer, wide-eyed. “What the hell are you doing here? It’s nearly midnight!”

  Clara stood, brushing imaginary dust off her jeans. “I figured you’d say that.”

  “That’s because it makes sense!” Elena stared, dumbfounded. “You’re supposed to be in school! You have classes, you...... wait, does anyone else know you’re here?”

  Clara winced a little, then tilted her head playfully. “Depends. Do imaginary friends count?”

  Elena’s eyes narrowed. “Clara.”

  She held up her hands in surrender, but the glint in her eyes was unamusable. “Look, it’s complicated. But can we go inside first? My butt is frozen, and I really, really need to pee.”

  Elena stared at her for another long moment, heart still racing, mind struggling to catch up.

  Then she sighed, fumbling for her keys.

  “Fine. But this better be good.”

  Clara grinned, dragging her suitcase behind her. “It’s going to be our little secret, okay? Just you and me.”

  Elena raised a brow, unlocking the door. “Now why does that already sound like trouble?”

  Clara only smiled wider.

                                           - - - -

  Inside the apartment, the warmth hit them like a soft sigh, melting the leftover chill clinging to their coats. Elena flicked on the lights, then tossed her keys in the bowl near the door with a clatter. Clara dragged her suitcases into the living room, already peeking around like she was mentally reclaiming the space.

  “You redecorated,” she said, toeing off her sneakers and eyeing the neutral-toned throw pillows on the couch. “It’s very… grown-up.”

  “You make that sound like an insult.”

  Clara grinned. “Just saying. I liked the purple beanbag era.”

  Elena rolled her eyes and moved to the kitchen. “Well, some of us had to grow up. Want hot chocolate?”

  “Obviously. I didn’t come all the way from France to drink tap water.”

  They both laughed.

  Minutes later, they were curled on the couch with steaming mugs in hand, the scent of cocoa and cinnamon curling through the air. Clara tucked her legs under herself, still wearing that half-smile Elena had learned to be wary of over the years.

  “So,” Elena began, sipping carefully, “you going to tell me what this is really about?”

  Clara looked into her mug. “I told you. I finished exams, and the school gave us a long break. I haven’t been home in years. Thought I’d surprise you.”

  “Three years, Clara. That’s not a little break from home.”

  “I know. I just… I missed you. And I didn’t want to deal with all the drama at home. So I figured I could hide out here. Lay low.”

  Elena raised a brow. “Does Mom know? Dad? Anyone?”

  Clara shook her head quickly. “Please don’t tell them yet. I just need a few days. I wanted to breathe first. With you.”

  Elena watched her for a moment, her eyes softening. “Alright. But you have to promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Behave yourself. No sneaking out. No wild stories. Stay out of trouble. This place is calm, and I like it that way.”

  Clara mock gasped. “Are you calling me chaotic?”

  Elena took a sip of her hot chocolate. “I’m calling you a walking storm in sneakers.”

  They both laughed, the sound filling the quiet apartment. For a moment, it felt like nothing else mattered, not the unintended heartbreak, nor the snow, or even the world outside. It was just the two of them again. Just sisters sharing warmth and silence in that unspoken way only siblings do.

  Elena stirred the pot of hot chocolate one last time before pouring it into two mismatched mugs. One had a chipped handle and said Best Day Ever! In faded pink letters. The other was navy blue with a constellation pattern that glowed faintly in the dim kitchen light.

  She handed the blue one to Clara and joined her at the tiny dining table by the window, where the city glowed quietly in the distance, blurred by fog and frost.

  Clara took a long sip and sighed. “God, I missed this. Your hot chocolate is still illegal. I’m pretty sure I’ve gained five pounds already.”

Elena snorted. “You’ve been here for fifteen minutes.”

  “Fifteen life-changing minutes,” Clara said dramatically. Then she sighed again, this time softer, resting her chin on her palm. “It’s weird. I haven’t been home in three years, and yet this still feels more like mine than the place I sleep in France.”

  Elena’s expression softened. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were coming? Mom’s been talking about seeing you again for months. Dad keeps asking when you’ll visit. You could’ve had a proper welcome.”

  Clara’s lips curved slightly, but her eyes didn’t match the smile. “That’s kind of why I didn’t.”

  Elena blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “I just…” Clara set the mug down, running her fingers along the rim. “I didn’t want to be met with questions. Expectations. The ‘so what are you doing with your life now’ interrogations. I just wanted to… breathe.”

  Elena leaned back in her chair, letting that sink in. She understood more than she wanted to admit.

  “And I wanted to be here,” Clara added, her voice quieter now. “With you. We barely talked the last year, with the time difference and everything. You stopped replying to my midnight memes.”

  Elena gave a small, guilty smile. “Things got… loud.”

  Clara nodded knowingly. “That’s why I’m here. I figured we could make some new memories. I’m done with exams, I’ve got a long break before my internship starts, and Paris can survive without me for a little while.”

  Elena tilted her head. “And you want me to keep it a secret?”

  Clara grinned. “For now. Just a few days. Please?”

  Elena took a slow sip of her drink before finally nodding. “Alright. But if Mom calls and I sound like I’m hiding a stowaway, it’s on you.”

  “Deal,” Clara said, reaching over the table for a pinky promise.

  Elena rolled her eyes but gave in, linking their fingers. “Also, promise me you’ll behave.”

  “I’m a grown-up now, you know,” Clara said with a mock-hurt expression.

  Elena raised a brow. “That’s exactly why I’m worried.”

  Clara laughed again, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave. No sneaking out. No drunk texting my exes. No climbing out of windows.”

  “And no arguing with the neighbors,” Elena added.

  “That was once.”

  “It was twice.”

  “…Fine.”

  They clinked their mugs together, sealing the agreement. The silence that followed was comfortable, filled with the occasional clink of ceramic against wood and the hum of the fridge in the background.

  After a while, Clara looked up. “So… how’s everything been? Really.”

  Elena hesitated.

  Clara didn’t push. She just looked at her, waiting, though not with expectation, but with patience. That kind of stillness only someone who knows you down to your bones can offer.

  “The usual,” Elena finally said, tracing her fingertip around the rim of her cup. “Work’s okay. Iris is Iris. Dylan is…” She trailed off.

  Clara didn’t say anything at first, but her brows lifted slightly. “What about Dylan?”

  That did it.

  The smile slipped from Elena’s face like someone pulled the plug on it.

  “It’s nothing,” she said too quickly. “It’s just… the same. Canceled plans. Excuses. I think we’ve had dinner together twice in the last four months.”

  Clara didn’t blink. “You okay with that?”

  Elena gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

  Clara leaned back slowly in her chair. “You know, I never really liked him.”

  Elena’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, here we go.”

  “No, seriously,” Clara said. “He gives me… Ethan vibes.”

  Elena blinked. “Ethan? As in our brother-in-law?”

  “As in our scary brother-in-law,” Clara corrected.

  “You’ve hated Ethan since the day they got engaged.”

  Clara folded her arms. “Because he’s weird. And distant. And sketchy.”

  “He’s just introverted.”

  “He’s always checking out people’s phones when they aren’t looking.”

  “He’s in IT.”

  “He smells like regret.”

  Elena choked on her drink, coughing. “Clara!”

  “I’m just saying,” Clara said, leaning forward, eyes wide and deadly serious. “My gut? It never lies. And Dylan? He’s Ethan, but with slightly better hair.”

  Elena shook her head, laughing despite herself. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Am I wrong, though?”

  “I don’t know, Clara,” Elena said quietly. “Maybe you’re right. But also… maybe I just don’t want to deal with all of that right now.”

  Clara watched her for a moment longer, then softened. “Okay. I get that. I’m not trying to make things worse. I’m just saying that you shouldn't keep making yourself small to keep someone else comfortable.”

  Elena sighed, looking out the window again. The snow had stopped. The streets were dark now, only the occasional car sliding past, headlights glowing like ghosts.

  “Let’s not talk about Dylan anymore,” she said finally.

  Clara nodded. “Deal.”

  They both sat in silence for a while, the weight of the conversation settling between them like another kind of snow.

  Eventually, Clara nudged her foot under the table. “So… spring.”

  Elena blinked. “What about it?”

  “We should do something. Like an actual adventure. Take a road trip. Or go hiking. Or maybe go to the coast and flirt with fishermen.”

  Elena snorted. “You had me until ‘fishermen.’”

  “I’m just saying,” Clara said with a smirk. “You, me, and the ocean? That’s main character energy.”

  Elena laughed, genuinely this time. “Let’s see if we can survive your secret homecoming first.”

  Clara grinned. “We always do.”

  And for the first time in what felt like weeks, the apartment didn’t feel so lonely.

  They talked until the mugs were empty and the city went quiet again, their voices wrapping around each other like old blankets, soft, familiar, and warm.

  Spring could wait.

  Tonight, they had hot chocolate and honesty.

  And maybe, for now, that was enough.