Eve
The house felt too big and too empty, even with Mia in it. I sat at the kitchen table, the same one where Sage and I had shared so many quiet dinners, staring at the bowl of soup Mia had practically forced into my hands. Steam rose in lazy curls, but the smell did nothing for my stomach. It twisted instead, a knot of nausea and grief that refused to loosen.
“Come on, Eve,” Mia said softly, sitting across from me with her own untouched cup of tea. “Just a few bites. You need something in you. Your fever’s still high, and you haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
I picked up the spoon, the metal cool against my fingers. I forced one bite, then another. The soup tasted like nothing. I swallowed anyway, because Mia’s worried eyes were on me, and I didn’t have the energy to fight her.
“See? N
