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POV Gabriel
I hadn't thought about it.
Not really.
My fingers had caught her chin almost instinctively, as if something in me was trying to verify… to confirm an intuition.
I drove my gaze into hers.
Directly.
Without detour.
At first—
nothing.
Her eyes.
The same ones.
The same color.
The same depth.
No void.
No obvious trace.
Just Avery.
And yet—
something was off.
Not in what I saw.
In what I felt.
A slight disconnect.
Like a wrong note in a perfect melody.
She was looking at me too.
Without looking away.
And for a second—
I saw her hesitate.
Barely.
Almost invisible.
Her gaze wavered.
Not enough to flee.
But enough to—
react.
As if my closeness unsettled her.
As if—
she was waiting for something.
I frowned slightly.
Yesterday—
no.
The day before yesterday.
She had said those words.
The exact same ones.
The same distance.
The same coldness.
Whereas yesterday—
everything had changed.
I knew it.
I had lived it.
That closeness.
That moment.
That different way of looking at me.
And now—
nothing.
As if it had never existed.
As if—
we had stepped back.
No.
Not stepped back.
As if it didn't exist.
I tightened my grip slightly.
Not enough to hurt her.
But enough to anchor myself in the moment.
To search.
For something.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
No resistance.
No foreign presence.
Nothing.
Just that diffuse unease.
I finally let go of her chin.
Slowly.
As if the gesture had lasted too long.
I stepped back.
And that's when I saw it.
Her gaze.
Caught on my lips.
As if suspended.
Waiting.
But for what—
I had no idea.
The silence between us stretched.
Heavy.
Too long.
My gaze drifted without meaning to.
Across her face.
Her slightly flushed cheeks.
Her breathing a little faster.
Then—
her lips.
A second too long.
— What are you doing?
Lauren's voice cracked through the room.
Avery pulled away abruptly.
As if waking up.
She pushed me back.
Not violently.
But without hesitation.
— Ask your dear friend.
Her voice had reclaimed that coldness.
Sharp.
She avoided my gaze.
Swallowing before turning away.
I didn't move.
I watched her leave.
Her back.
Her walk.
Too fast.
Too… fleeting.
— No eating in your room! said Lauren.
— Those are the rules of the house, Avery answered.
— And?
— We're not at the house.
Her voice was already fading up the staircase.
Light.
Almost insolent.
— Avery!
— Frustrating, isn't it? When someone ignores what you say.
A mocking smile.
I didn't even need to see it to know it was there.
Then—
a door slammed.
Hard.
Final.
A silence fell.
Lauren sighed.
— That girl…
I stayed still for a few seconds.
Then I turned my head slightly toward her.
— Don't you think she's acting strange?
She took a sip of coffee.
Calm.
Too calm.
— Not really.
I looked at her.
For a moment.
Then I followed her into the living room.
— I think something's wrong.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
A simple gesture.
Controlled.
— Don't worry about it.
A pause.
Barely perceptible.
— It's nothing serious.
I looked at her.
Really.
This time.
The way she spoke.
The way she wouldn't look at me directly.
The way she answered too quickly.
As if—
she knew something.
— What?
She finally looked up at me.
— You know something.
Silence.
Short.
Tense.
Her gaze didn't flee.
But—
it closed slightly.
— It's nothing serious…
She hesitated.
Barely.
— …you worry too much.
I didn't answer.
Because no.
That wasn't it.
Something had happened.
And it wasn't normal.
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