The dim glow of early morning filtered through the safe house windows, casting long shadows across the sparsely furnished living room. Elizabeth sat curled on the worn leather couch, nursing a cup of tea that had long since gone cold. She hadn't slept; her thoughts kept circling back to Xavier, to Daniel, and to the precarious situation they all faced.
The sound of footsteps broke her reverie. She looked up to see Xavier entering the room, his hair slightly disheveled and his shirt wrinkled as if he, too, had spent the night battling sleeplessness.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, his voice soft but gravelly from exhaustion.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Not much. Too much on my mind."
Xavier crossed the room and sat down beside her, his presence warm and solid against the quiet uncertainty that lingered in the air. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence between them comfortable yet charged.
