Dana nodded to the security officer stationed discreetly in the hall.
Ryan looked around the room, calculating witnesses again.
Then he placed the flowers on the counter with deliberate care.
“For Lily,” he said.
I looked at the white roses.
They smelled expensive and empty.
After he left, Daniel threw them in the trash.
“Hey,” I said weakly.
“What?”
“The vase might be useful.”
Daniel retrieved the vase, dumped the roses harder than necessary, and rinsed it in the bathroom sink.
Eli finally smiled.
It changed his whole face.
For half a second, I saw the man he might have been before whatever had made him hide from the building parties and carry groceries up fourteen flights of stairs.
That night, when Daniel went to get real food and Priya left to file emergency paperwork, Eli sat near the window while snow fell beyond the glass.
“You should go home,” I said.
