It wasn't a long wait.
Hal was out of his room in no longer than ten minutes, slipping his small black cellphone into his pocket as he made his way back to the living room where I sat. He looked content, yet remnants of his previous episode still clung to his features. He looked paler than usual, lips pinker and eyes bloodshot and slightly more swollen than he would normally look. It was subtler than it had been when I first walked back into the house, but evidence that he had cried was still there. He sat down on the leather couch beside me, a small smile plastered to his soft rose-coloured lips.
"So?" I asked, eager to see what he had to say about his conversation with his brother. He crossed his ankle over his knee, letting out a breath through his nose, worrying me slightly.
"So...
