Lisa’s POV

He looked like he might punch the wall. The air around him was dense — not because he was violent, but because he had to. This was anger laced with a kind of pain I hadn’t seen in him before. Not that I knew enough about him to make such statements, but it was unsettling.

I stayed quiet for a beat. Then another. Thinking of the right words to say to him… none came.

“You okay?” I asked at last, my voice smaller than I intended.

He didn’t look at me at first. Just stood ...