Mark opened the door wider without a word. Lucas stepped aside as Daniel entered. The air in the hallway felt too small for three people, all carrying too much. Mark led them into the kitchen. Dana was nowhere in sight, but the silence she left behind still hung thick. Daniel looked at Mark, then at Lucas.
“I didn’t mean for this to get messy. I just… needed to know. And I thought maybe you did too.” They gathered around the kitchen table, but no one looked comfortable. Daniel sat with his hands folded, his shoulders too stiff for someone trying to be calm. Mark sat across from him, tense, still trying to catch up to the idea that had just crashed into his home.