Auden stares at the floor for a moment, not really knowing how to answer Everleigh’s question. Because he is shaken up by what happened last night – more than he wants to admit. Not so much his father’s violence – that he’s seen before.
But her response to it – and…
And how right she was, asking that question about whether his violence was part of his nature or just something he’s chosen to believe his whole life because it’s easier.
God, he’d been up half the night turning it over in his mind.
“Auden?” she asks, and he clenches his jaw, realizing that he’s been staring at the floor for too long.
“I’m all right,” he says, raising his eyes and meeting hers, willing her to believe it. Because he is, really – he’s been shaken up before, he’ll be shaken up again. But what matters is that
