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I hated that ring when I first got it I don’t mind it so much anymore It’s kind of pretty, how it sparkles in the sunshine And it doesn’t look as strange and false to me as it did at first

I’, but Oliver says, “No Give it to me”

I don’t want to hand it over to him It feels like a betrayal But if I refuse, it’s not like I can stop hi it out of my hand So I pass it to him, silently

There’s a tool bag sitting on the kitchen floor, next to a slightly paler patch of wall that probably had water dae, until someone fixed it

Oliver opens the bag, taking out a ha on the kitchen countertop Then, like he did to ain with the hammer

Theloose around the dia it, until the band is twisted and ruined, and the main stone has rolled away

It hurtsdestroyed

But what really disturbs e chunks out of the butcher block countertop Oliver doesn’t give a da how he feels about this house, that can’t be a good thing

As he swings the ha, his face is flushed He’s sweating, dark patches showing through on the chest, back, and underar about a hundred times

Finally, he stops He’s standing there panting, looking atthe hammer

He takes a step toward

I really think he’s losing it

When I knew Oliver before, he seeuy Soy But s into oddness

Now, it’s the opposite—he see on by a thread But I’m not sure what that thread is—is it this house? Is it his affection for ile, and easily shattered?

He takes onethe ha his phone out of his pocket instead