**Katherine's POV**

Morning felt different on my skin.

I woke with the memory of Ben still mapped across my body - the weight of him, the way his voice had broken on *please*, the emptied look in his eyes when I told him I would not leave Sam yet.

I swear I wanted to say yes I wanted to leave with him but that would not make sense.

The guilt sat beside a colder clarity. I had chosen unfinished business over escape. That choice did not feel soft in daylight.

Around Sam I moved with care. Not the old carefulness of someone trying not to provoke a mood. Something flatter....