chapter fifty-three: at a crossroads

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AT A CROSS ROADS

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AT A CROSS ROADS

AT A CROSS ROADS

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eren's manor

knock knock.

"come in."

eren didn't move. he stayed perched on the roof, his back against the slanted tiles, a sketchbook resting loosely in his hands. his attention was fixed on the horizon, where the sun bled into the sky, staining it in deep purples and golds.

the door creaked open, and the scent of cinnamon and honey curled in before zeke even entered. he carried a plate with a single slice of lebkuchen—his mother's speciality.

"wasn't sure if you'd gone out yet," he said, stepping toward the open window."figured you might be hungry."

without waiting for permission, he climbed through and settled onto the roof beside eren, arranging the plate between them. a cigarette flared to life between his fingers, a slow ember in the growing twilight.

eren barely glanced up."yeah, thanks."

he resumed his sketch, the tip of his pencil gliding across the paper, filling in the shadows of a face he couldn't seem to get right no matter how many times he redrew it. a face that had been missing from the world for days now.

he hadn't gone to the funeral. he didn't know if he should have.

"i'll come say hi to dina in a bit. got some work to do first."

his brother shifted a little. then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed something onto eren's sketchbook. a small green card.

"you mean for this?"

the brunette stiffered as recognition sank in. shit.

"there's nothing wrong with that..."

"there is when you're lying about it," zeke exhaled a slow stream of smoke."and when you're prioritising it over everything else."

eren didn't answer. he just pressed his lips into a thin line, flipping the card over like it didn't mean anything. like it wasn't proof of where he'd been sneaking off to.

IF HAPPY EVER AFTER DID EXIST; levi ackermanWhere stories live. Discover now