She peeks over at him out of the corner of her eye. Steven shows no sign of suspicion. He puts on his hat and walks out the door. Neither Chloe nor Michael can recall any time they’ve seen him look so down. Steven’s posture is slumped at the shoulders, and the bags under his eyes are dark and saggy. Unhealthy is the only word that comes to Chloe’s mind to describe the way Steven looks this morning.
“Hey, Red,” Michael calls Steven’s attention back before he has a chance to shut the door behind him, “take the car.”
Michael tosses the keys through the open door, and watches his friend grab them from the air.
“Thanks man,” he mumbles before dumping his hands in his pockets and walking away with the door left wide open.
Chloe and Michael follow him outside and take a seat on the porch. The
