The lecture he almost hoped for didn't come. There was no stealing his cigarette or bribery. Just a soft "Fine" that cut deeper then it probably should. Pete missed the arguing and the shouting, knowing that she wanted him to quit because she cared. It never bother him that she was constantly after him for smoking, the fact that he quit for her was a testament to his feelings. Although the first thing he did after leaving was smoke until his lungs felt like they were on fire just to spite her. He sighed softly and put out the cigarette in the sink. Pete didn't say anything, just picked up his mug and sipped his tea.
He couldn't help but study her face. There was so much there, the way her eyebrows pulled together, the emotions that seemed to move across her face. And yet he felt like he was staring at at a puzzle with out a clue as to how it should be solved. He was frustrated, he used to be able to read her, he knew her emotions better then he knew his own. Now he would give anything to know what she was thinking.
"I'm still alive," he quipped with a one arm shrug. It wasn't what he wanted to say, but what could he say? I miss you? I regret leaving? I miserable? He looked up from his mug to her face. She deserved an honest answer. "I'm...complicated." A sigh escaped his lips. He wanted to sit her down and tell her everything about South America, how he wasn't sure he could live with what he did, how afraid he was of himself for what he did. But that was something he couldn't ask her to do not when they were basically strangers to each other. "It has been a long while. Maybe too long..." his voice trailed off. It felt like it had been too long, but that was his heart speaking, his head, the one that listened when she told him of her feelings for another, felt differently. His voice was soft when he spoke again and there was no conviction behind the words. "Maybe not long enough."