they own this town

Peter hardly notices Rexanna moving closer, too caught up in his own mind, the sick feeling of guilt in his throat. When she says no, softly, like she believes it, he wants to laugh, to shake his head, shake her. He was selfish, and even if this specifically hadn't been what he'd agreed to, he had agreed to the situation in general. His entire body stiffens when she touches his arm, part of him wanting to pull away. He didn't. Peter screwed his eyes shut and leaned into her touch, her embrace, more kind than he thought he deserved. "I-I... not my idea, but when I... I talked to her, and Z-Z... Za... she asked me, and I... said yes. Not to... to you, but to... marrying." It takes him a moment to get through his words, but he needed to explain all of it. "There's... someone, and I asked, and... and I was selfish, and this..." This happened. And maybe it would have happened anyway, but maybe it wouldn't have. "I can't leave." The words drop from Peter's lips like stones, resignation soaking them. The idea wasn't foreign to him, but... the pros here outweighed the cons. And if Zariah was going to be upset with them as a pair, it would be best if one of them, remained. Whatever careful weighting was going on in his mind was thrown out the window (again) as Rexanna continued. Peter pulls away from the embrace and looks at her, really looks at her. The little things he'd noticed earlier made sense with her revelation. He isn't sure what to think of it, not at first. "Why... how..? Is that... is that why the.... 'c', and your..." One of his hands comes up to brush at his own lips. Peter try, try your whole life to be righteous and good