The house settled after Kevin left, but it didn’t soften.
Alex stayed in his room until the light outside started to fade. He heard Troy move through the hallway once, then go back downstairs. No knock. No demand. The silence had a different quality than the old punishments—less strategy, more someone giving space because he’d been told to.
Around early evening Alex went down to the kitchen. Troy was at the table with a glass of water he hadn’t touched. He looked up when Alex entered and waited, as if the next move had to come from the room itself.
Alex took a glass from the cabinet and filled it. “You said we talk when you’re back. You’re back.”
Troy nodded once. “Sit. Please.”
Alex sat across from him. The table between them felt wider than it was. For a few seconds neither of them
