Today, I don’t.
The silence that follows isn’t awkward.
It’s intentional.
They don’t push.
They just don’t move.
Not staring.
Not crowding.
Just… present.
It’s the kind of thing you don’t notice until it’s happening to you.
That’s when I feel it.
The pressure.
Not from expectations.
From people who know me too well.
“Say it,” Dex says finally.
“Say what?”
“The thing you’re not saying.”
I grip the towel in my hands.
I could shut this down.
Captain voice. End the conversation.
But something tells me not to.
Because I’m tired of carrying it alone.
“I think she used me."
The words drag on the way out. Like they don’t want to be said. Like they’ve been waiting to be forced loose.
The words hit the room like a dropped weight.
No one laughs.
No one rushes to talk.
Even Dex goes quiet.
Gabriel’s expression doesn’t change, but his jaw tightens.
Eli nods once. “Okay.”
That’s it.
