Face down.
“Not getting that?” Dex asks, his eyes studying me, knowing.
I shrug. “Later.”
The phone buzzes again, more insistent this time, and I don’t touch it.
Silence stretches between us, quieter now, heavier, and I can feel his attention shift even without looking at him.
“You avoiding someone?” he asks.
My fingers tighten in the blanket.
I could lie.
I should lie.
But something about the way he says it stops me. There’s no edge to it, no push, no expectation. Just… awareness. Like he’s paying attention in a way I’m not used to.
“Yeah,” I say quietly, keeping my eyes on the TV. “Mama’s not… herself right now.”
The words settle between us, heavier than I expected.
He shifts slightly beside me, but he doesn’t ask anything else, doesn’t push, doesn’t pry.
And somehow, that lands harder than if he had.
I focus back on the screen, even though I’m not really seeing it.
“I’m sorry you’re going through this.” He nods toward my phone when it finally stops vibrating with incoming calls.
I swallow the knot in my throat. “It is what it is…” is all I manage to say.
“Tony Stark is overrated,” I add, just to fill the silence, just to pull us back into something easier.
Dex lets out a low chuckle. “Careful, Tinker.”
“Oh please,” I say, turning slightly toward him. “He’s arrogant, reckless, and thinks he’s untouchable.”
Dex raises a brow. “Sound like anyone you know?”
I narrow my eyes. “Yes.”
That smirk spreads across his face, slow and confident, like he knows exactly what I mean and doesn’t care.
Yeah.
Definitely like someone I know.
After that, the conversation slips into something easier, lighter, the kind that doesn’t require thinking too hard. We fall into a rhythm without really noticing it, tossing comments back and forth, arguing over scenes, picking apart characters like it matters, like we’re not just filling space but actually sharing it.
And somewhere in the middle of that, something in me loosens.
Just enough.
My shoulders drop, my breathing evens out, and I stop tracking every inch between us like it’s something I need to control.
Until something funny happens on screen and I laugh, the sound slipping out of me before I can stop it.
