"Good." I step into the room, nodding at Chase when he heads upstairs to find Emma. "How long have you been up?"
"A while. Emma's napping. I told her I'd watch Ethan."
I sit on the couch, giving them space. Ethan immediately abandons the blocks and toddles over to me, arms up.
"Unca Jacky! Hockey!"
"Yeah, buddy. I was playing hockey." I lift him onto my lap. He's warm and solid, smelling like apple juice and graham crackers.
"Go, go, go!" He bounces on my legs, and I let him because the kid's energy is infectious even when I'm exhausted.
Maya watches us, and something flickers across her face. Something soft that's gone before I can name it.
"He missed you this morning," she says quietly. "Emma said he kept asking where you were."
"Morning practice. I'm usually gone before he wakes up." I ruffle Ethan's hair, and he giggles. "Did you sleep okay?"
It's a loaded question, and we both know it. I heard her up half the night.
"Fine." She turns back to the blocks, starts stacking them with deliberate focus.
"Maya."
"What?"
I don't know what to say.How do I ask if she's okay when the answer is obviously no? How do I offer help when she's already shut down?
Ethan wiggles off my lap and goes back to her, plopping down on the ground. She hands him a block without looking at me.
"You look tired.”
"Thanks. That's exactly what every woman wants to hear." She's deflecting with humor, but her voice has an edge.
"That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant." She stacks another block. "I'm fine, Jackson. Just adjusting to being here."
She's not fine. I can see it in every line of her body—the way she's holding her shoulders too tight, the way her hands shake when she reaches for the blocks. She's thinner than two monthsago. The shadows under her eyes are deeper, more pronounced against her brown skin.
"If you need anything…"
"I don't." She finally looks at me, and the shutters are down. "I appreciate you guys letting me crash here, but I'm good. Emma's been amazing. Chase too. I'll be out of your way soon."
"You're not in the way."
"Sure." She doesn't believe me. "Either way, I won't be here long. Just until I figure some things out."
Ethan knocks over the tower of blocks again, squealing with delight. Maya smiles at him, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
I want to push. Want to demand she tell me what happened, why she showed up with everything she owns in garbage bags, why she looks like she hasn't eaten a real meal in weeks.
I want to know who hurt her, because someone did. I can see it written in the careful way she moves, the hypervigilance in her eyes when doors open or close.
But I can't, and I don't have the right to demand answers.
"Well," I say, standing. "If you do need anything, I'm around."
"Noted." She builds another tower for Ethan to destroy.
