Jake remained in Box 14 for a long moment after the door clicked shut behind Alex and Anna. The room felt strangely empty, the scent of Anna's expensive perfume lingering in the stagnant air like a reminder of a world he no longer belonged to. He looked down at his right hand; the knuckles were red and beginning to throb with a dull, rhythmic heat that matched the pulse in his jaw.
'Protecting me?' Jake thought, a bitter scowl deepening the lines on his face. He replayed Alex's frantic, desperate words in his head. 'From what? He's just reaching for anything to stay above water. A classic Alex maneuver.'
To Jake, it was the same old story—masking a betrayal with the guise of a greater, hidden burden to avoid the consequences. He thought of Aliya, the way she had looked before everything fell apart, and his chest tightened with a cold, focused fury that pushed aside the confusion.
