Stone Circle And I end the story that we didn’t even get to start

There was a silence that followed and he would not break it, watching her just as carefully as before. But when she quivered and shook beneath his touch, he stepped back, offering her the space he’d taken away; at heart, Alexander was not terrible. As awful as he acted, as spiteful and cruel as he could be, that wasn’t him—not truly. He could think of others, he could be mindful of them. And seeing Laurel standing there, avoiding his gaze when the Laurel he knew would have met it straight-on, he felt in the wrong. There was more to this, more to her words that did not match what they said. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but kept himself from doing so, fearful that one wrong move would make things worse.

“Because you’re scared,” was all he said at first, slowly and quietly. He couldn’t read her voice, couldn’t pick out emotions from her tone, but he could read her—she was not the same Laurel he knew, not the same Laurel that took what she wanted, when she wanted it, and demanded respect. There was a change, a quietness to her that spoke volumes—something he understood because he was the same, even if he was yet to realise his awareness.

“What happened?” he asked, concerned. “Why—?” But he stopped himself, the question disappearing just as swiftly as it presented itself. The why didn’t matter as much as the what—what had happened to cause this change in her? What was it that made his own heart clench in his chest, worry and fear combined pricking his skin? What could be done?