Chapter 74

• Haven closed the door behind him, the reverberate of its delicate tap resounding through the calm house. He murmured, running a hand over his tired face, and braced himself for the discussion he knew was coming. Alexis had been sitting at the kitchen table when he left, a mug of cold tea before her, untouched. Her pose had been stiff, her eyes ruddy from the tears that she had unyieldingly held back, not needing to appear to him just how much it hurted. She had continuously been solid that way.
• He found her in the same spot when he returned, presently her fingers were twisted firmly around the mug, her knuckles white. Her eyes glinted to his as he walked in, at that point away once more. The silence between them was overwhelming, filled with all the words they hadn't talked.
• “Alexis,” he began, his voice soft, cautious. She looked up at him, her eyes sharp in spite of the exhaustion.