(Ruby's POV)
The morning after the box, Nicholas was quiet.
We sat at the kitchen table, eating the eggs Mrs. MacLeod had made. The sunlight was coming through the windows, warm on my face. The rain had stopped sometime in the night, and the sky was clear for the first time in days.
Mia was there, drinking tea. My mother was beside her, reading something on her phone. Liam was in the corner, finishing his breakfast quickly, already eager to get to work.
Nicholas pushed his eggs around his plate. He hadn't eaten more than a few bites.
"Are you going to eat that?" I asked.
He looked at the plate. "I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat."
"I know."
He took a bite, chewed, swallowed. Then he set down his fork. It clinked against the plate, loud in the quiet kitchen.
"The oak tree," he said. "I want to go now."
"I'll come with you."
He nodded.
Mia looked up from her tea. "Do you want me to come?"
"No," Nicholas said. "Stay with your mother."
