21

"Anyway—I wouldn't want to interrupt," Ennis goes on, clearing his throat. "Just wanted to see how you were doing, Marlowe. I'm glad you've got company—you don't want to be sitting on your own with nobody to talk to. Now, I'll get out of your hair. It was nice meeting you again, Huknock; I hope you'll forgive me for last time, but what with everything else that's happened lately, I hope you can understand why I might be on edge."

He gives a parting nod and shuts the door once more. For a moment, Marlowe doesn't move—and you think you hear them let out a single, quiet breath. But a second later, they turn back to you, seemingly making an effort to go back to normal as much as possible.

"I think he's worried about how I'm holding up," they tell you, still hovering by the door. "He's—well, he just worries about me. He knows today was hard."

They sit on the bed again, seeming a little more tired than before. As they settle back down, you can see their mind is preoccupied for a few moments.

But soon, they look at you again with a smile, and you think that whatever thoughts came over them must have passed. Either that, or they simply want to keep it to themself.

"Man. It's been a long day," they say eventually. "Honestly, I've barely even been thinking about tomorrow; it just kind of doesn't seem real. It's probably going to be a weird day, though. I'll be at work when the vote happens, but at least I'll probably hear the news as soon as it comes through. What about you? Do you have any plans?"