When Alicia defended Chuck with such passion, Louis felt like a fish out of water. His face didn't show it, but his eyes hid an intense emotion that he was struggling to control.
"I need a smoke," he said coldly before turning on his heel and walking out, slamming the door harder than he intended.
Alicia didn't even notice because she was lost in the nightmare from thirteen years ago. The howling wind, the scorching fire, the unbearable pain, and the hopeless cries. Chuck's name was the key that unlocked that trauma, and just the thought of him made her feel like she was getting stabbed in the heart. It stirred up a storm of emotions that took a long time to settle.
