I didn't move at first. Just stood there with the door cracked open, staring at Avery like I was still trying to make sense of her being here at all. The last person I expected to find on my doorstep, the last person I wanted tangled anywhere near the quiet Val had just left behind—was her.
Her hands were folded in front of her, almost like she was bracing herself. When she finally spoke, her voice was small, careful.
] "Can I… come in?"
The answer that swelled in my chest was a no. A sharp, immediate no. Because it felt like the right thing, the only thing. Letting her inside would blur lines I didn't want blurred, not when I was already carrying the weight of missing Val. Not when the last thing I needed was more complication.
But saying no outright would've been cruel. And if nothing else, I wasn't cruel.
So I nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
