Welcome Back, Elliot Grey

The waves still whispered behind them,

but Elliot's mind had gone still for the first time in days.

He sat with June beside him, her hand still gently resting over his.

That simple gesture felt more human than anything he'd known in years.

After a while, he let out a quiet breath and spoke again.

"What am I even saying… You must be thinking one of my screws is loose."

He tried to laugh — but it came out thin and tired.

June shook her head slowly, her voice soft but firm.

"No. No matter how strange it is… I believe you. And I'll accept you exactly as you are."

Elliot looked down at his hands.

They were shaking again.

"Don't," he muttered.

"Don't say that. I'm not even worth being a friend to. I'll be this way until the day I die."

His words hung heavy in the air, swallowed by the sound of distant waves.

But June didn't flinch.

She leaned slightly closer, her voice calm — like the tide smoothing out a jagged shore.

"Don't speak like that. You're not wrong. This world is wrong. People like to pretend they're good. Polite. Stable. But underneath… everyone has something. Sadness. Regret. Cruelty. Secrets. You're not alone in that."

Elliot turned his head.

Looked at her like he'd never seen her before.

"You make it sound so easy," he said.

"It's not easy," she replied.

"But it's possible."

He didn't respond at first.

Just stared ahead at the horizon, where sea met sky and the light was beginning to fade.

Then softly, almost afraid of the sound of his own voice, he said:

"Thank you."

She smiled — not brightly, not dramatically — but enough.

And then she said something that made his chest ache in the best way.

"We'll prove them wrong. All of them. That courtroom. The voices. We'll show them you're worth living. But not with arguments. Not with words. With memories."

She stood up, holding out a hand to him.

"We're going to create moments you'll want to remember. And when it's time to stand on that stand again, we'll make sure you've got proof."

Elliot stared at her hand for a moment.

Then, slowly, he took it.

Together, they walked away from the sea —

toward the glowing dusk —

toward something that looked a little like hope.

End of Chapter 12