When they get to the apartment, they walk in together, the door closing behind them with a muted click.
The air seems to shift, settling around them like a heavy blanket that makes it hard to breathe, wrapping around the tightness in their chests.
Both of them stand there for a moment, as if uncertain about the next step, their minds tangled in completely different directions.
Kyle lowers himself slowly into the couch, the cushions sinking under his weight as he lets out a long sigh, the kind that seems to rise up from the very bottom of his lungs.
It's the sigh of someone who has carried far too many burdens for far too long and can no longer stand to bear another ounce of stress.
He leans back, trying to sink further into the cushions, eyes momentarily closing as though he hopes the fabric might swallow him up and shield him from everything that is gnawing at his mind.
In his head, he assumes Ashen will head straight to the bedroom.
