"Yes." The answer came immediately. Without hesitation.
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen the way he looks at you." I smiled despite myself. Eli brightened instantly. The expression alone made my heart ache. Because he deserved certainty. Not half-truths. Not evasions. Not the tangled mess I'd created.
The conversation drifted elsewhere eventually. School. Friends. A spelling test. Normal things. Yet the guilt lingered long after dinner ended. The following week brought another strategy meeting. Another collection of tired leaders attempting to solve an increasingly dangerous problem.
By now the routine felt depressingly familiar. Maps. Reports. Arguments. Coffee. Far too much coffee. The meeting itself accomplished very little. Which wasn't surprising. The attacks were becomin
