"I love you," she says, soft and unsure, like she's not sure if she's allowed to say it anymore. It makes his heart tense.
"I love you too, baby girl."
...
Elias doesn't enter her room for a week after he sends her away. A week after that, he assigns all the other humans under his care to different guardians. There's only three left in his home and they are all understanding about it. He is cognizant of himself enough that he knows he won't be a good guardian for them now.
Most of them seem to understand why he can no longer stand to look at them.
A month later, his place is completely emptied out, save for the room where Abigail used to be. He sleeps there now. It's the only place left that smells like home.
Chapter Nine: How to Love
Abigail wakes with heavy limbs and a deep seeded
