14
ALEX GIVES UP AND STOPS asking Paul to bed. It hurts far too much when he knows the only answer he’s going to get is no. Paul doesn’t go back into their room except when Alex is out to grab more of his clothes. Alex knows because he starts to check the closet.
Alex sleeps badly, whether from the stress of the situation or from having to sleep alone. To make it worse, Liam badgers him at work when he starts dragging in pale and exhausted. Alex is sure Liam can tell what the genre of problem must be without Alex having to confess anything, but it doesn’t stop him from asking.
“Are you not talking because you don’t talk, or are you not talking because of our history?” he asks one morning.
Alex wishes he could sit in the courtyard and drink his terrible coffee in peace and maybe go back
