Chapter 33

The chair beneath me was cold, hard, and unforgiving. I sat frozen, like moving would shatter the thin thread of control holding me together. My hands were locked so tightly in my lap, they had gone pale from the pressure.

Beside me, Benjamin sat hunched forward, elbows digging into his knees. His eyes were glued to the white-tiled floor, unblinking, like he was waiting for it to offer some kind of answer. Every so often, his fingers twitched just slightly like they wanted to reach out and hold mine, but kept hesitating. Like he didn’t know if he still had the right.

The silence between us wasn’t quiet. It was loud. Loud with everything we weren’t saying. It pressed down on my chest like a weight that I couldn’t shake off.

I turned my head just a little, glancing at him. His jaw was clenched so tight it looked painful, and his eyes were hollow, so empty they scared me. Since we got here, he hadn’t said more than a few words. Just a nod at the receptionist. A blank