He trailed after Carl, but the distance between them in the hallway felt longer than it was. Ryan's feet felt heavy with every step he took. He wanted to call out, to explain, to beg Carl not to be angry. But his throat closed up. Was this the end for them? The thing he had been trying to postpone and avoid had finally happened.
When he walked through the door, Carl was already inside. Ryan followed the sounds and saw him in the hallway, feeding the cats. Ryan stood at the entrance, watching him. He had a soft smile on his face as he moved Jasmine from Adalia's plate to hers. Jasmine kept trying to climb over his hand to get to the other side, but he held her in place till she gave up and started eating from her own plate.
