Delaney’s lips press together, trying not to smile.
That makes my chest twist. Quick and sharp. Because it proves what I already know.
Even now… she still responds to him.
And to Boone.
And…
I stop the thought where it starts.
We go inside.
The cabin feels warm. Two small rooms—one with a queen-size bed, the other with two bunk beds. A living room with a couch that’s survived a few bad decisions. In the corner, akitchen that’s functional but not fancy. One long table with four chairs.
No distractions.
The only link to the outside world is an old landline that hangs crooked on the wall near the kitchen, cord yellowed with age.
Silas tosses the keys into a bowl by the door and exhales. Then he turns, points at all of us, taking attendance.
“No disappearing,” he says. “No, I’m fine.’ No storming off. We’re not doing that.”
Boone crosses his arms. “You don’t get to give orders.”
Silas’s smile slips. “Then call it a plea.”
Delaney flinches at the word.
I see it. Boone sees it. Silas sees it too, and his face shifts. He wishes he could pull it back and redo.
But he doesn’t.
He can’t.
He takes the chair closest to the fireplace, lights the fire, and sits so he doesn’t start pacing holes into the floor.
Boone stays upright.
Delaney hovers, then takes a chair at the table with her back half turned toward the windows, making sure she can see the door from her peripheral vision.
I sit last. Across from her, but not too close. Not trapping. Just… present.
For a minute, all we hear is the fire and the old wood settling. The cabin pops and creaks.
Silas rubs his palms over his jeans and finally says what we all know.
“I hate this.”
Boone’s gaze snaps to him. “Then why are we here?”
Silas laughs once, humorless. “Because you’re going to grind yourself into dust if you keep swallowing it, and Delaney’s goingto disappear right out of the house, and I…” He stops, swallows. “I can’t do the silence.”
Delaney’s eyes flick up.
Boone’s expression doesn’t change, but the muscle in his jaw works harder.
Silas looks at her, then at Boone, then at me. “We all know what happened. The town. The post. The whole… circus. And we’ve been pretending we can just keep operating like normal.”
