The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 59

The black SUV sped down the highway, the silence inside the cabin heavy and oppressive.

"Josh, you're a junior this year, right? Did you buy a car already?" Sloane broke the silence, trying to ease the tension.

"It's my professor's..."

"Professor? You mean Professor Harrison?"

"You know him?"

"Yeah, Coach Hayes mentioned him. He said Professor Harrison is leading the Deep Ice expedition. I heard he's the absolute authority in polar geology and has led multiple Antarctic missions. I'm really looking forward to meeting him!"

"Yeah, you'll meet him in a couple of days."

...

They made casual small talk, and thirty minutes later, the car pulled up outside Sloane's rented apartment building.

"Thanks. I can head up from here," Sloane said quietly as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I'll walk you to the door."

Josh had already unbuckled his own belt. He stepped out, rounded the hood, and opened the door for her.

Sloane offered a faint smile. "You're full of gentlemanly service today."

Josh walked with her to the entrance of her building. The streetlamps stretched their shadows long across the pavement. Sloane stopped and turned to him.

"Go on back, Josh. Drive safe."

Josh didn't respond immediately. He lifted his gaze, taking in her noticeably thinner face and the deep loneliness pooling in her eyes.

The feelings he had ruthlessly suppressed for five years threatened to rip through his chest. He wanted to pull her into his arms. He wanted to hold her tight and ask her what she had truly endured all these years.

"Sloane," Josh said, his voice hoarse.

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