“This.” Cleopatra gestured vaguely. “Sitting here. Talking to a stranger like it’s supposed to fix anything.”

“Maybe it won’t fix everything,” Julia replied. “But it might help you understand why it hurts.”

That struck something.

Cleopatra’s fingers tightened.

“I’m not here because I want to understand anything,” she said, her voice sharpening. “I’m here because I made a promise.”

“To Calvin?” Julia asked.

Silence.

Her gaze dropped for a split second before she scoffed. “He just doesn’t know when to stop.”

“Yet you came.”

Cleopatra didn’t respond.

Julia leaned forward slightly, her tone still soft, but more focused now. “Tell me something, Cleopatra… When was the last time you slept...