Consequences

James and Zoe sat in stunned silence as he tried to absorb all that she had just said, failing dismally. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out, so he closed it and then opened it again, looking for all the world like a fish out of the water. He would have looked so comical in other circumstances, except that there was nothing even remotely funny about this circumstance. Evelyn sat stock still on the bed, her expression petrified as she waited for her husband to say something, anything, but he remained mute.

James’s face was so white that she could see the veins in his forehead stand out in stark comparison to the color of his face, and for a split second, she thought that he was having a heart attack.

“James! James, please say something.” She cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as she moved towards him. The movement seemed to snap him out of his shock.