Truth weighed heavy beneath my chest bone - slow waking, throbbing skull, breath stuck in syrupy air. Not only the alcohol. Another thing lingered under the skin, hidden deep.
Sunrise brushed his back. There he was, at the counter, moving careful with the kettle. Humming came out quiet - like breath on glass. Quiet stayed around him, thick as fog after rain. Hours passed, plenty of them, but my actions sat light on him, almost invisible. It was quiet that kept me frozen. I just stood there, eyes fixed. His expression gave nothing away. Nothing moved across his features.
Stillness held me from the room's far side. My eyes on him, silence between us. That moment locked into place inside my head. Just before everything changed direction.
"Hey." His face lit up when he saw me. "How're you feeling? You were pretty drunk last night."
"Lucas, we need to talk."
His smile dimmed, as if something darker slipped in behind. Trouble seems close now
"Can we sit?"
