Chapter 37: The Choice
The distance between us continued, though it had softened into something less sharp than the days immediately following the hospital. Adrian still asked if I needed anything. He still opened doors, still made certain security followed me wherever I went. But the lingering had disappeared, the small moments that used to stretch a few seconds longer than necessary now clipped short and efficient.
I hadn't realized how much those tiny gestures meant until they were gone.
Mrs. Brooks caught me watching him across the breakfast table one morning, my tea going cold in front of me while I studied him over the rim of my cup. "Are you going to keep watching him," she asked quietly, setting down a plate of fruit, "or are you finally going to go talk to him?"
"I don't know
