The Weight of Staying
Laura knew that voice—knew it meant he was worried and trying to make worry sound like information, smoothing the edges for her sake.
It meant he was worried and trying to make worry sound like information—a trick she recognized too well from her own toolbox of emotional camouflage.
"And you want me to drive over there," she said, half-resigned, half-bracing herself for the inevitable.
"Just knock on the door. Make sure he's alive," John replied, the words clumsy but urgent, his anxiety now unmistakable.
She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose, feeling the pressure radiate through her skull.