❄ Camille ❄
Sebastian’s confession sat in the air after his voice stopped. He kept staring at the fire like it could answer for him. His shoulders were hunched forward, elbows on his knees, hands locked together. The man who ran Sterling Routes with clipped commands looked smaller in the cabin light, like he had been holding his breath for years and only now let it out. I didn’t touch him. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t know what he could handle. Comfort could feel like pity. Silence could feel like abandonment. Everything felt sharp.
“Annabelle,” I murmured, and he flinched.
“Don’t…don’t say her name,”
“Sebastian…you told me about her, I’m just trying to fully understand,”
“I know, it’s just…you wanted the truth. It’s hard for me to talk about her,”
“I wanted th
