The space between them had changed—not physically, but in a way that mattered far more, because leaving no longer felt easy, and staying no longer felt like a mistake, and that contradiction unsettled Zein Shoin more than anything else.
"Then leave," Ace said.
Zein didn't move.
"…I can't," she said.
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied.
"Yes, you do," he said.
"No, I don't," she insisted.
"Say it," he said.
"I won't," she replied.
"Say it," he repeated.
Zein exhaled slowly.
"…because it's quieter," she admitted.
"Quieter?" he asked.
"When I'm with you… everything stops," she said.
Ace didn't respond immediately.
"Then stay," he said.
Zein looked at him, uncertain.
"…you make it sound easy," she said.
"It is," he replied.
"No, it's not," she said.
"It is if you stop fighting it," he said.
Zein hesitated again.
"…I don't know how," she admitted.
"Then don't do it alone," he said.