The room went very still.
Autumn's mind raced through every lie she had ready, every excuse she'd rehearsed in the shower, in the shadows of the bathroom, or the quiet moments when he wasn't watching her.
But faced with those words, all of it disappeared, and what came out instead was real. Hot tears began spilling down her face before she could stop them.
"I didn't mean to," she said, her voice breaking. "I got scared. I heard something and I just wanted to know what it was. I'm sorry."
It wasn't even a lie exactly. It was just not the whole truth, and somehow that made it easier to say through her tears.
Gabriel's face softened instantly, the sharpness melting until his face started to look tender. He pulled her against his chest, smoothing a hand over her hair.
"Hey," he said gen
