Marcus
I push the door open, slow.
Natalie's sitting at the edge of the bed. Her hands are in her lap, fingers woven tight. She doesn't look at me right away.
Rebecca stays behind me, just inside the door. I don't let go of her hand.
Natalie lifts her head.
"Thank you for coming, Marcus," she says. "I know it was hard for you."
I nod. "Yeah. It was hard for you too, Nat."
Natalie looks up at me again.
"I don't want to talk about him right now. I said my peace with him."
"You don't have to," I say.
Natalie looks at our hands, then back at me. "Then maybe we can just talk. About anything else. About…us."
"Sure," I say.
She nods. "Good."
Natalie leans back a little.
"I forgot how quiet it gets in this house," she says. "Even when people are here, it's like no one's really allowed to speak too loud."
"Like your voice might wake something you don't want to face," I say.
"Exactly."