Marlowe
The silence after Dorian's devastating admission stretched long enough that I found myself counting the beeps of his heart monitor just to have something to measure the discomfort against, everyone in the room clearly uncertain how to move forward from something this raw.
Marla finally broke it, her voice carrying a weight I didn't fully understand yet. "I think," she said slowly, "some of this goes back further than any of you actually realize. Further than Ridge Pass."
Dorian's head turned toward her sharply. "Marla, don't."
"I've been quiet about this for over a decade, Dorian. I watched you nearly die three times now, and I'm done protecting a secret that's clearly killing you faster than it's protecting anyone." Her voice had gone steady, resolved in a way I hadn't seen fr
