Back in Sisi's room, Ashen stands silently near the bed.
Sisi lies curled on the bed, her back partly turned toward him, her face angled away like she doesn't want to see him.
The air between them is tense, too quiet, too charged, and it tightens around Ashen's chest like a rope.
"Why don't you just say it?" Sisi's voice breaks the silence, rough and hoarse, like it's been sitting on her throat too long. "What's the point of saying Kyle doesn't want you because of this or that, when you know that's not really the issue here?"
She shifts slightly, though she still doesn't face him. Her voice is sharp, but not angry, just hurt, heavy. "Are you saying Kyle doesn't want you for whatever reasons because you already know you don't want me either? So now you're trying to make it seem like we're both going through the same thing? Like I shouldn't feel alone in this, because hey, look... Ashen's going through the exact same kind of pain?"
