Adrian gently helped Katherine into her bed. The room was still evidence of her earlier distress, but Adrian's quiet presence offered a strange, temporary calm. He lay down beside her, fully clothed, simply offering his body for her to cry on.
"Won't Ava suspect anything? You haven't been coming home," Katherine whispered, her voice weak and laced with worry about her friend's reaction.
Adrian gave a careless shrug. "She knows I need space once in a while. It's not a big deal," he assured her, dismissing his girlfriend with a casual finality that both troubled and comforted Katherine.
She nodded, accepting the explanation. Adrian looked at her, his expression softening with genuine concern. "What happened, Katherine? Before your whole 'stress thing' sent you to the hospital? You were running on fumes."
