[ Jesse doesn’t respond right away. He watches River talk with that same breezy confidence, the kind that fills a room like sunlight, whether it’s invited or not. Fresh-faced doctor with a fast track and a dream job? Jesse tries to imagine what it’s like to live that kind of life, to have the path laid out so clean. It’s a strange sort of envy. Not bitter, just distant, like watching someone dance through a version of the world that never once made room for you.

The Hummer bumps over a rise in the road, and Jesse rides it out with a loose sway, wrist braced against the dash, eyes distant. His thoughts scatter like dust in the side mirror, drifting back to things he can’t name, can’t face head-on. River’s voice tugs him back, and he glances over. ]

That’s cool, man, for real. World needs more people like that. I dunno, people who don’t... [ He shrugs, trailing off, eyes returning to the windshield. ] ...break things for a living.

[ His smile is faint. Wry. Self-aware. He’s not fishing for pity, just stating the facts. The silence stretches between them again, not uncomfortable, just suspended like something half-said. Jesse lets the wind roll in through the open window, the hum of the tires on pavement keeping time with the slow unwinding of his nerves. He changes the subject before his words sink in too deeply. ]

So, you always pick up strangers? Not worried about who might get in your ride?

[ The question’s light, but there’s a glint in his eye - curiosity tempered with caution. ]