He didn't see any reason to hide the truth. "Axl called me. He said Maile was worried. She couldn't get a hold of you."
Her shoulders hunched forward even more. "I didn't take her call because there's nothing to say."
He took another step forward before she nailed him with a look. "And she's supposed to be working. I didn't want to bother her."
"I doubt she'd consider it a bother, 'Wehi. Your cousin loves you."
"She has to pay attention." She swallowed and it was an audible gesture. "She's already doing me a favor by taking my shift. I'm not going to call and cry to her on the phone."
"You can cry to me."
He was almost to the bed, but she turned her head to face the far wall, completely hiding her face from him.
"You could yell at me, too. If that would help."
"You're not the problem."
He could hear the ache of pain in her voice.
"I still want to be here to help." He was close enough to the side of the bed to feel her cotton sheet dangling off the side of it. "I've got strong shoulders."
She nodded, turning back toward him, but keeping her face obscured by her hair. "I know, but I can't imagine you'd want to hear even more about my piece of... junk husband."
"You're soon to be ex-husband." He put a knee on the edge of the bed and the other one joined it a moment later. "I think I might need to hold you, so I won't worry about you."
Her head jerked toward him and he almost froze in place. He could see one eye beyond the moving wall of her hair. "I feel like I'm so... so brittle right now that if you touch me I might shatter into a... a thousand pieces."
He moved around behind her, slowly moving one leg around her back to the other side of her body.
Pallas leaned in near her shoulder and spoke softly to her. "If you fall apart, Kawehi, I'll hold you together."
"I... I don't know if it would be worth the effort."
Her voice shook so much that he knew she was dangerously close to breaking apart.
"You're more than worth the effort, Kawehi. You're worth the world."
He wrapped his arms around her and as soon as his skin touched hers, she sagged back against his chest and curled up against him. She cried, her whole body shaking like an earthquake.
"I s...saw him in the video."
He held her against him, not trying to do more than that. He just wanted to keep her safe and give her what support he could.
"He... he's married."
The words confused him at first, but then it hit him square in the chest.
"He's married. Again?"
She didn't answer him with words.
Kawehi curled in tighter against his chest and he used his arms to bring her as close as he could against his chest before he started to rub his hand slowly against her back.
"I'm sorry."
She drew in a deep breath and he stilled his hands on her back.
"I don't know what I expected," her next in drawn breath was more of a gasp for air, "but it wasn't that. I didn't know..."
