𝖺𝖿𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗍𝗒 || 𝗅𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗋

𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋.

𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 || 𝟮
"𝘮𝘺 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣'𝙩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭."
𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼

⋆⋆⋆

               𝗙rankie came down the stairs slowly, her crutch tapping against the wood in a quiet rhythm. the morning light filtered in through the windows, soft and golden, spilling over the polished floor like melted honey. the house was still. too still. no hum of conversation, no clatter of dishes, no lucas.

she reached the bottom step and paused, eyes drifting toward the kitchen, where the faint smell of warm syrup and toasted butter lingered in the air.

addison stood at the stove, hair tied up messily, a mug of coffee in one hand, flipping a pancake with the other. she turned slightly at the sound of frankie's crutch and gave a faint smile. "morning, sweetheart. i didn't hear you get up."

frankie made her way over without answering, lowering herself carefully onto one of the stools at the island. "where is he?" she asked, not bothering to mask the sharp edge in her voice.

"lucas?" addison raised a brow and sipped from her mug. "i figured he was with you. didn't you two have plans to come in together?"

frankie nodded slowly, then shook her head. "we did. but i woke up and he was gone. didn't text. didn't call." she picked up her fork and pushed at the pancake on her plate like it had betrayed her.

"maybe something came up," addison offered gently. "he was probably just trying not to wake you."

frankie didn't look up. "last night felt... strange. not bad, just... heavy. we were at the botanical gardens. it was quiet. too quiet. we talked about everything again his past, texas, the fight... he said he's glad i know now. said he's tired of hiding. but then he barely kissed me goodnight. and now he's disappeared."

addison let out a soft breath and crossed her arms. "maybe he's just overwhelmed. it's a lot for him to unpack."

frankie finally looked up, her expression raw. "so why do i feel like he's slipping away from me?"

a silence settled between them, broken only by the low hum of the fridge and the ticking of the kitchen clock. addison's voice, when it came again, was quieter. "i know it's hard not to jump to the worst-case scenario. but lucas cares about you. really cares. i see it in everything he does."

frankie's jaw clenched. "then why does it feel like i'm always one wrong word away from losing him?"

"maybe it's not him you're unsure of," addison said carefully. "maybe it's everything around him."