Evey stood against the wall and watched Aidan slowly tear himself apart. She could see it on his face, and hear it in each of the words that dropped like stones from his bright lips. Her younger self would have gone immediately to him, given him some sort of comfort. Even the Evey in the room with him now could see how something with the right intentions had taken him down a path he truly didn't want to walk. But Evey still couldn't afford to give him - anyone - the sort of comfort that Aidan needed now. It wasn't in her to give. And even if it were, it wasn't her right to give it. That right belonged to the Evey he hadn't told yet.
So she could be practice for the day when he was clean and he had to tell Evey properly. Evey took a breath, squared her shoulders, and finally did walk back over to him. But instead of wrapping her arms around his middle, she sat down on the couch and pointed to the blank spot beside her.
"After the mugger, then what?" she asked. They were going to go through this. They were going to do it now. She wanted to bleed it out of him, get the poison out, and hopefully make it easier on him to bear it. For him. And also for the other Evey, who would be...