The cardboard box made a soft scraping sound against the hard floor as Vessara slid it across the room. She reached for the stack of books on the table and started loading them into the box.
Then she paused on one of her notepads, her hand hovering over it for a moment before she placed it carefully in the box.
The door opened, revealing Thea.
"What do you want?" Vessara asked.
Thea cleared her throat as she walked into the room. "I thought I could help you pack." Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.
Vessara's hand stilled on the carton; she slowly turned her head to look up at Thea. Her fingers twisted together in front of her.
Vessara raised her brows. "Since when do you offer to help me?" she asked.
Thea's smile tightened at the corners, a muscle twitching in her jaw. "Come on, Vessara."
