The room fell quiet, filled only by the ambient beeps and low noises of the clinic's machines.
For a second, it felt like the argument had left a crater between them, something neither of them knew how to cross without saying something they might regret.
Then, unexpectedly, Theodore let out a low scoff, the sound almost like a laugh.
Lea blinked. "Why are you laughing?"
He shook his head, still smirking like he was surprised by his own reaction. "It's nothing. I just… I didn't think you cared that much."
Her eyes went wide, face pulling into a look halfway between outrage and disbelief. "Are you an idiot?" she snapped. "I was just—"
But before she could finish laying into him, Theodore raised a hand in surrender, the grin fading into something gentler. "I know. I know. You don't have to say it. I get it."
Lea hesitated, thrown off by the shift in energy. "Then what did you mean, when you said I didn't need to worry?"
