The morning light slipped through the curtains. Lucian sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor like it might give him an answer.
He hadn’t slept much.
Every time he closed his eyes, her voice came back... soft, shaky, breaking somewhere in the middle. “You sound like you don’t even want to talk to me.”
And then his own voice, cold and careless. Deal with it.
He ran a hand down his face, dragging out a low sigh. The words tasted worse now that the night was gone. Guilt didn’t fade with the morning; it just sat heavier.
Upstairs, the house was still quiet. Leah was still asleep.
The silence that usually comforted him now felt too loud.
He stood, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the tap. The water ran cold at first before warming up, and he
