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◝.*･ﾟ
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩. Confined in the safe clutches of her car seat, Isla Hale seemed to be on the cusp of falling asleep.
Her baby blue hues, a startling contrast to her parents' emerald-hazel orbs, continued to roll, defiantly fighting off the slumber that threatened to consume her.
Small fingers clutched around the cuddly toy resting on her lap, a grey wolf with the nickname 'wolfy'- much to Derek's dismay.
Watching closely through the rear-view mirror, lips pinched into an affectionate smile, Aspen's shoulders relaxed as Isla finally allowed herself to fall asleep, her head tilting back as her lips parted.
The six-month old was blissfully unaware of the tension that was radiating around the car like a poisonous gas.
Excluding the purr of the car's engine, the car was silent. Even when Aspen's fingers had reached for the radio dial, flickering on a random radio station with the volume on low, Derek would immediately lean forwards, turning it off.
Aspen had turned the radio on several times throughout the car ride, all resulting in Derek turning the dial the opposite way. In the end, Aspen had accepted defeat, turning away from her husband to glance out the window.
She'd watched with an unreadable expression on her features as the tall landscape buildings had turned into forestry and country-style houses.
The landscape had passed by like a blur, a smudge of ash and emerald flashing through the tinted windows.
Derek's erratic driving was no doubt the main reason for this, and though Aspen would have normally snapped at Derek for driving so recklessly while Isla was in the car with them, she couldn't bring herself to snap at him.
Brows furrowed, Derek's hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel, his posture slouched.
He had barely said a word since they'd got in the car, as if she was a stranger to him.
But Aspen had reassured herself it was nothing she had done, knowing if she pushed Derek into talking it would have made the situation ten times worse.
His eyes never left the road as he pressed the pedal to the floor, the car jolting ever so slightly. Aspen's seatbelt snatched against her chest as the car jolted forwards.
