06-07-2022, 03:05 AM
He couldn’t help but wince. This was wrong; it was all so wrong. She was never supposed to see him like this.
It was all he could do not to hide his face in his hands from the embarrassment of being called out by his own niece. Malachi did set his elbows on the table, resting his forehead against the handkerchief in his hands.
He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but the words felt hollow.
“I just…” Malachi pressed into his palms, a gentle pressure on his closed eyelids. What was he supposed to say? What could he possibly say that would make anything better?
“It-… they… they weren’t rumors. Not all of them,” he still couldn’t lift his head to look at her. “Not even most of them.”
It was all he could do not to hide his face in his hands from the embarrassment of being called out by his own niece. Malachi did set his elbows on the table, resting his forehead against the handkerchief in his hands.
He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but the words felt hollow.
“I just…” Malachi pressed into his palms, a gentle pressure on his closed eyelids. What was he supposed to say? What could he possibly say that would make anything better?
“It-… they… they weren’t rumors. Not all of them,” he still couldn’t lift his head to look at her. “Not even most of them.”
