Scene 6 — She's Fragile, Innocent…
A trembling heart, a smile like mercy... and a man unraveling.
Later that night, the soft click of the study door swallowed the
silence behind Sarah. The evening had ended, but something
lingered—something quiet, alive, and unspoken.
Sam, ever the storm in someone else's calm, sprawled on
Andrew's leather couch like it was his throne. "Okay," he said
with a mischievous grin, "I have to say this—my emotionally
constipated best friend was the softest I've ever seen tonight."
Andrew shot him a blank stare.
Sam clutched his chest, mock-gasping. "You smiled. You talked like
a normal human being. Are you okay? Should I call a doctor?"
Andrew, dry as ever, muttered, "Are you done?"
"Absolutely not," Sam smirked, sauntering to the desk with
theatrical flair. "Listen, it's the first time I've actually seen her up
close. And she's a kid, man. Seventeen. Nervous and sweet. Tiny.
Like, barely reaches your chest—and there you are, acting like
she's made of glass dipped in sunlight."
Andrew looked away, almost too quickly. "She is."
Sam stilled.
For once, his voice softened under the weight of real
understanding. "Dude… you're gone. Totally."
Andrew leaned back against the desk, the moonlight streaking
across his eyes, distant and uncertain. "She was different today,"
he said quietly.
"She was," Sam nodded, remembering. "That little thank-you?
Bro, I almost fell out of my chair."
Andrew didn't smile, but his gaze drifted to the window where the
sky sighed in silver. "Last time she came here… she wouldn't
even look at me. She was shaking. Like I was a monster. And I hated it."
His voice cracked ever so slightly, like a thought he didn't want to
admit.
"And now?" Sam asked, not teasing this time.
Andrew exhaled slowly. "She smiled. Talked. Laughed."
He paused. "That change… it felt like forgiveness. Like maybe
—maybe—I hadn't destroyed everything."
He didn't say it aloud, but it was there—between the flicker of the
moonlight and the stillness in his voice:
She was fragile. But she didn't break. And somehow, that broke
him instead.

End of Scene....
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