Ch. 5: The First Lie

There were things Ela had learned never to say aloud, and most of them were about he.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Ela said. "I'm asking you to listen." Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way he was watching without seeming to. There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do.

She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more. Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way he was watching without seeming to.

For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way he was watching without seeming to.

Every choice had a price. Ela had known that for years, and still the knowing never made it easier.

Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way he was watching without seeming to. The conversation turned, the way conversations do, from the easy things to the ones that mattered.

She did not sleep that night. There was too much to lose, and far too much to want.