Lucifer pulled his hand away from the bed frame, the thought already forming to turn and leave.
[Wait.]
He paused mid-step, eyes narrowing slightly. "It's done. I've stayed long enough."
[No, my son. Stay until she wakes.]
His jaw tightened. "For what? She'll see me, say whatever she has to say, and we'll both go on pretending the years between never happened."
[Not this time. You've carried the weight of her leaving since you were a boy. You know why she did it, but knowing and forgiving are not the same. You've built your life on walls she left you with. You can't keep them forever.]
Lucifer turned his head just enough to glance at her still face. "Forgiveness doesn't change the past."
[No, but it changes you. And it will change her. You may not believe it, but she has been in this state because of you.]
His expression didn't shift, but his voice was low. "I know."
