Regret

In the meantime, Cove washed the dishes alone, crying as quietly as he could.

Seeing Sage like that made his guts twist on themselves, and not being able to help only made things worse. His hands shook slightly as he scrubbed the plates, the running water masking the soft sounds of his sniffling. Deep down, he realized that while he'd have been sad if any of the other boys were ill like that, the fact of it being Sage was unbearable, and that spoke volumes about his feelings for him. A pang of shame followed the thought, knotting his stomach further.

He did his best to stop crying, splashing cold water on his face to erase any visible evidence. His reflection in the window above the sink betrayed him, though—his reddened eyes and flushed cheeks told a story he wasn't ready to share. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the stack of clean dishes and quietly set the table. He arranged the grandma-y plates with their delicate floral patterns and placed the thick, weighty glasses beside them, moving as though in a trance.

Once the task was done, Cove sat next to Raven absentmindedly. Raven had wandered over after hearing Finn place the pot on the table. Cove's gaze drifted toward Nima in the distance, still sitting by Sage's side with the phone in hand.

Raven, keeping an eye on Nima as well, leaned back in his chair with a huff. His casual demeanor barely masked the tension simmering beneath it. When Cove finally tore his eyes away from Nima and looked at the table, his gaze was distant, his hands tightly clasped together in his lap.

It was a quiet and fast lunch, sparsely filled with quick glances from River to Raven, who avoided his gaze entirely, and to Finn, who offered River soft, absentminded smiles that did little to ease the unease settling in the air.

Cove pushed his food around his plate with a fork, his movements slow and distracted. His gaze drifted to Sage every few moments, worry etched into his features despite his best efforts to mask it. The lump in his throat made swallowing hard, and his untouched biryani grew cold as time ticked on.

Finn and River excused themselves as soon as they were done eating, their voices quiet, their chairs scraping softly against the floor as they stood. Raven lingered a moment longer, finishing his meal with mechanical efficiency before rising. He walked over to the pot, scooped a fresh portion of biryani into a clean plate, and turned toward the couch where Nima sat, phone pressed to his ear, patience etched into his posture.

"Your position is now twenty-five," the robotic feminine voice echoed through the room. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 followed, its once-haunting melody now dulled to mere background noise that everyone had learned to tune out.

Raven paused mid-step, standing still for a moment as his sharp gaze flicked back to Cove.

The boy was still seated, absentmindedly nibbling at his rice, his unease radiating off him in waves. It was painfully obvious that something was gnawing at him.

"You're a coward," Raven said, his voice low but laced with venom. "You disgust me."

Cove's fork clattered onto the plate as he froze, completely taken aback. "Excuse me?" he managed, though his words lacked any real indignation. They came out thin and defeated, like the last gasp of a fragile defense.

Raven's lip curled into a half-smile, dripping with sarcasm and irritation. "Not everyone's blind and stupid like you think," he continued, his words sharper now. "Except maybe you."

Cove's face paled, his fingers twitching against the table. He opened his mouth to respond but faltered. Instead, his voice cracked softly, barely audible. "I'm just... afraid," he muttered, as if trying to justify himself. He dropped his gaze to his plate, pushing a few grains of rice around with his fork, hoping the distraction would dull the sting of Raven's words.

Raven scoffed louder this time, his disbelief evident in his narrowed eyes. He shook his head slowly, as if disgusted not just by Cove but by the entire situation. "Then I hope you enjoy living with that regret," he spat, his voice cutting like ice.

With that, Raven turned on his heel, heading toward the couch where Nima sat, leaving Cove staring after him, mouth slightly open, his chest hollow and heavy.