Eliana packed her things in silence, her hands moving on instinct. Every fold, every zip of her bag felt heavier than it should. She didn't look at Nicky again. Elias stayed close, watching her with a tight jaw, then stepped out of the room.
She heard their voices but not the words. Elias and Nicky talked in the other room, low and tense. She didn't know what was said, only that when she walked out with her bag over her shoulder, Nicky never came to the door. He stayed hidden, the silence behind him louder than any apology.
Elias led her out, steady and unshaken.
In the car, the silence pressed down harder. Eliana leaned back against the seat, drained after everything she had told him. Elias sighed every few minutes, each sound heavy, carrying too much meaning.
But one word stuck in her chest. Clean.
She turned her head toward him. His jaw was set, his face hard with anger that hadn't faded.
"What did you mean by clean?" she asked softly. "Was he an addict?"