For the next few days, neither of them mentioned the dock.
Neither mentioned the unfinished confession.
Neither mentioned the fact that Noah had almost said it.
Almost.
The word haunted Ava.
Because almost was becoming a pattern.
Almost in the library.
Almost on the roof.
Almost during movie night.
Almost at the lake.
Their entire relationship seemed built on almosts.
Almost touching.
Almost confessing.
Almost crossing the line.
The problem was that every almost brought them closer to a moment when neither of them would stop.
And Ava wasn't sure whether she feared that moment anymore.
The house felt unusually quiet on Tuesday morning.
Sarah had left early.
Richard was working.
Noah had disappeared somewhere around sunrise.
Ava found herself wandering aimlessly through t
