Alex barely slept.
Not because Haley and Gael stayed loud.
Honestly, after a while the house had gone completely quiet again except for rain and distant thunder.
The problem was her own brain.
By the ti sunlight filtered weakly through the curtains the next morning, she still felt strangely unsettled.
Just aware in a way she hadn't been before.
Which was deeply inconvenient.
Downstairs slled like coffee and burnt toast when she finally entered the kitchen.
Luke sat at the counter building sothing questionable out of cereal boxes while Claire drank coffee with the exhausted expression of soone already regretting being awake.
"Morning," Claire said.
"That sounds optimistic."
Alex grabbed orange juice from the fridge and tried ignoring the fact that Haley and Gael still weren't downstairs yet.
Unfortunately, her brain refused cooperation.
Claire noticed imdiately.
"You look tired."
"Studying."
Luke snorted.
"That's nerd code for ntal collapse."
Alex kicked his chair lightly while Claire hid a smile behind her coffee mug.
Then footsteps sounded upstairs.
Haley appeared first wearing one of Gael's shirts and looking entirely too pleased with existence.
Alex instantly regretted having eyes.
"Oh my God," Haley said while walking into the kitchen. "Why are you all awake so early?"
"It's eleven," Claire replied.
"That's basically dawn."
Gael followed a few seconds later, calm as usual, sleeves rolled halfway up while Haley imdiately drifted back toward him without seeming aware she was doing it.
Alex noticed it imdiately now.
Every touch.
Every glance.
Every quiet little habit between them.
And suddenly she understood why it felt different hearing them through the wall last night.
Because it wasn't just sex.
It was intimacy.
Comfort.
The kind built slowly over ti until people unconsciously started orbiting each other.
That realization lingered awkwardly in her chest.
Haley stole coffee from Gael's mug while leaning against his side.
Again.
"See?" Luke pointed dramatically.
"Codependency," Alex said
"It's romance," Haley corrected.
"It's caffeine theft," Claire muttered.
Gael looked over toward Alex then.
"You okay?"
Simple question.
Still enough to catch her off guard because she realized imdiately:
He'd noticed she was quieter.
Alex forced her expression back toward normal.
"I'm fine."
Haley narrowed her eyes slightly.
"That sounded tired."
Great.
Now, both of them were analyzing her.
"So people are just tired without making it a group project," Alex replied while grabbing toast.
Luke looked genuinely confused.
"Who?"
Nobody answered him.
The kitchen settled into overlapping conversation after that:
Phil apparently trying to install smart lights again,
Luke asking whether raccoons could be dosticated,
Haley complaining about Gloria texting her shopping links at eight in the morning.
Normal family noise.
But Alex kept catching herself watching Haley and Gael without aning to.
The way Haley touched him constantly.
The ease of their conversations.
How naturally he fit beside her now.
And worse—
how much she suddenly understood why Haley looked so happy all the ti lately.
That thought stayed with her longer than she wanted.
Then Haley stretched lazily beside Gael and smiled.
"You know what I want?"
Alex instinctively closed her eyes imdiately.
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