lent shaking in her hands to stop. She pushed he
rack, her line of sight crossed the narrow hall
raft Mac & Cheese. His movements were efficient,
r mind superimposed the image of him in a bespoke suit, stepping o
ablished her absolute priority: save enough money an
and grabbed the original owner's phone. She nee
bills and credit card overdraft alerts popped up
e original owner and Cyrus. The screen
e ar
oney to me
a useles
. She aggressively hit the lock butto
rom the kitchen. Cyrus poured the macaroni into
of Aliya sneaking around the living room. He
ly shoved the phone into her pajama pocket and f
what to do with her hands. She finally settled
ni into two chipped porcelain bowls. Through the rising
anded it to Aliya. His movements wer
gesture. As she took the bowl, her fingertips accident
een burned. His brows locked together. He
ened. She immediate
he said, her voice ba
e night completely shattered Cyrus's cogn
pale, makeup-free face. He was searching
helin-star meal. The hot, heavy calories hit her empty stomach, providing a desperate, small burst of energy. The lingering dizziness from
food was garbage and would rather starve than touch it
r and sat down. He threw ou
throw up if you ever a
coughed violently, her cheek
glass of water, but his hand stopped halfway.
er breath. Her brain s
he forced a dry laugh. "Every
out a low scoff. He didn't press further. He
ear the dishes. Aliya sprang up like a coiled sprin
em!" she anno
n full blast, desperately trying to use the sound of r
back as she scrubbed the bowls. A complex emotion flashed t
/1/115868/coverbig.jpg?v=32bef03f33da65e01e67bd040497498f&imageMogr2/format/webp)