3 for Phoenix & Evan
3. “Please, not now.”
Evan had always been awkward when it came to showing his wife affection. He didn’t love Phoenix, but he cared for her in his own way. Usually his attempts to show affection or appreciation came in the form of gifts. Sometimes Phoenix would sigh, other times her lips would quirk upwards into a smile.
This time, while he held an expensive diamond necklace set in white gold, Phoenix was completely unresponsive. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting - after all, her twin brother had just died. Evan moved to loop the necklace around his wife’s neck, but she brushed him away.
“Please, not now,” she whispered.
“Tell me what to do,” Evan insisted. He hated seeing her so lifeless, as if part of her had died with Regulus. There was bone-deep misery there, something heartbroken and infinitely lonely in her eyes.
“You can’t be what I need.” Phoenix’s words were quiet, weary but definitely not malicious. Nonetheless, they struck Evan with the force of a physical blow. He would never be enough for her, especially not now that Regulus was gone.
“Maybe not,” Evan admitted, “But I can do the best I can.”
Phoenix curled her knees to her chest and sobbed, utterly broken. Evan stroked back her dark hair and put his arms around her, holding her close as she cried. She eventually settled into sleep, exhausted by her grief, and Evan didn’t dare move.
His wife was a shell of the vibrant girl she’d once been, and Evan didn’t know how to help, how to heal her.
Perhaps all he could do was accept that there was the possibility she never would heal from this.
