Chapter 68: Untitled Chapter

Kendrix woke up warm. Not rested-warm. The kind that made her not want to move.

For a second she didn’t know why. Then she remembered. Roberto.

She didn’t move right away. Not because she was scared, just because moving would mean dealing with it. Her head was on his chest. His arm was around her. Not tight anymore, but not gone either. Like even asleep he forgot how to let go.

Morning light came through the window. Nothing special. Just normal light. The room looked too normal for what happened last night.

She shifted a little and his arm moved with her automatically. That tiny pull made her breath catch. So he was awake. Or half-awake. Either way, he knew she was there.

She lifted her head. Roberto was already watching her, like he had been waiting for her eyes to open.

Kendrix had no clue what to say. Her mouth felt stupid. Everything felt too big for words.

“This is…” She started, then stopped.

Anything she said out loud would sound dumber than what was actually happening.

Roberto didn’t pull away. He didn’t make space either. He just studied her face for a second.

“You’re overthinking it,” he said, quietly.

Kendrix let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. “I kind of have to.”

They didn’t talk after that. Not because it was awkward, just because talking would make it worse. She moved a little in his arms and saw something shift in his face. Small, but real. Like he felt it too and wasn’t trying to hide it.

“You can get up if you want,” he said after a minute. His voice was softer than usual. Less locked-down.

Kendrix looked at him. “I know.”

But she didn’t move, and neither did he. The quiet between them felt different this time. Not heavy, just charged. Like neither of them knew how to act normal yet, and neither wanted to try.

Finally she muttered, “You’re gonna make breakfast weird now, aren’t you?”

The words came out smaller than she meant them to.

Roberto held her eyes. “Yeah. Probably.”

Something tightened in her chest at that. Not panic. Just an annoyance. That he didn’t look like he regretted it. That annoyed her more than anything.

. .

Kendrix walked into the dining room slower than she meant to. Not because she was late. Because refusing to walk in would have made it obvious he got to her.

The table looked the same as every morning. Plates, coffee, toast burned in the corner like always. It was annoying how normal everything looked.

Bash was halfway through his food. Skyler had his tablet open next to his coffee, like always.

And Roberto…

Roberto looked up the second she stepped in. Not staring. Just noticing her before she sat down. Like he had been waiting.

“Morning,” he said.

One word, which was softer than usual. It threw her off.

“Morning,” she said back, and her voice came out flatter than she wanted.

She sat down and that was when it got worse. Roberto didn’t go back to ignoring everything like he normally did. He just slid a plate toward her, more like he had always done it before.

Bash stopped chewing mid-bite. His eyes moved from Roberto to Kendrix and back again. Once. Then again.

Skyler looked up slower. He wasn’t watching people. He was watching patterns, and this didn’t fit.

Roberto poured coffee into her cup without asking.

Kendrix blinked at it. She felt her face grow hot fast. Not because she was embarrassed, but because she was annoyed he could still make her react that fast. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said, and shrugged like it was nothing.

Her heart was beating too fast and she was mad at him for it. She looked down at her plate so nobody would see her jaw tighten. Her cheeks were so hot and she hated that he had noticed.

Bash leaned back and dragged the word out. “Okay… good morning energy today.”

Kendrix took a bite of food she didn’t even taste. Roberto didn’t look at Bash. But his hand stopped moving for half a second before he kept eating, like he heard it too.

Skyler finally spoke, voice flat. “You look rested.”

Roberto glanced at him. “I am.”

Kendrix stared at her plate because she could feel it now. Not in what Roberto was doing. In how aware he was of her while he did it. Like he was trying to act normal and failing.

Bash leaned toward Skyler and muttered, “Something happened.”

Skyler didn’t answer. He just kept watching.

Kendrix reached for her coffee and her fingers brushed the cup at the same time Roberto’s hand moved. They didn’t touch. But it was close enough that she almost pulled back too fast.

Bash saw it and his face changed. Not teasing. Not joking. Just the look people get when they figure something out before you want them to.

Skyler noticed a second later and didn’t look away.

Roberto cleared his throat. “After breakfast, I need to talk to you,” he said to Kendrix.

He tried to make it sound casual and failed. His eyes stayed on hers a beat too long before he looked down.

Kendrix nodded. “Fine.”

Bash leaned back and stared now. Skyler took a sip of coffee like nothing was happening, but his eyes stayed sharp.

The room didn’t feel like breakfast anymore. It felt like everyone was holding their breath.

Roberto stood up without finishing his coffee. “Come with me.”

He didn’t wait. Kendrix followed, mostly because refusing would have made it obvious he got to her.

He led her to the study and shut the door.

Kendrix crossed her arms. Annoyance was the only thing holding her together.

Roberto rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at her, then looked away.

“I’m not gonna lie about it just to make breakfast easier,” he said.

That was it. No speech. No apology. Just that sentence sitting in the room.

Kendrix stared at him. “You can’t say that and act normal at breakfast.”

Roberto didn’t answer right away. He just watched her like he was trying to figure out if she wanted him to take it back, but he didn’t.

The door opened before she could say anything else.

Bash stood there with a mug. His smile was there, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Oh,” he said. “Am I interrupting?”

Roberto didn’t blink. “Yes.”

Bash looked between them once. Then slower. The smile dropped. He set the mug down without a sound.

“Right,” he said, quietly.

Then he closed the door. No joke, no exit line. Just closed it and left the air heavier.

Kendrix exhaled through her nose. Still annoyed, still fighting the part of her that liked how steady he looked when he said it. She reached for the door handle.

Roberto’s voice stopped her. Low. Only for her. “I’m not sorry.”

Kendrix paused with her hand on the knob. She didn’t turn around. She didn’t snap back. She just walked out with her heart beating too fast and her cheeks still hot.