He would instantly see small elements in the house that he wouldn't have seen for six months. James' toys were spread everywhere. Ed absently moved a monkey. His watch beeped with a notification. He checked it, scowled, and swiped it away.
Ed's watch dinged again and he muttered under his breath, swiping away the notification again. "I still think this is a bad idea," he said harshly to Francis. "You two shouldn't see each other again.
"You slipped it in her drink without telling her," he replied hotly. "She had already said that she didn't want it, and you drugged her."
His watch pinged again and he huffed, looking down at it. "God, she's stubborn. She doesn't know you're here, and she's been messaging me off the hook to get me to tell you where they are. It's the same stubbornness that makes her refuse to get a restraining order against you." He looked up, his brow furrowed with irritation. "You aren't good for her, Francis," he said harshly. "She says I don't understand, but I know what a good relationship is. A good relationship doesn't have one member of the partnership drugging the other. It doesn't leave a person with nightmares about their significant other hurting them."
"Yeah," he said harshly, swiping away another notification. "Oh, what? Don't tell me you never noticed that? She talks about you in her sleep, Francis. She's begging, trying to get you to not do things, and she wakes up terrified."
Francis seemed quiet for a moment before standing up. "I don't want them to hurt. Hurting them was never something I intended to do, and if me being here does that, then I'm going to leave."
"Fine. Go." At that moment, the door opened and he would hear Poppy's quiet voice. "Go upstairs, okay? I gotta go talk to Ed." The sound of Diana's feet up the stairs followed and Poppy's voice called out. "Ed? Ed, you have to let me-" She opened the door to the kitchen and froze, her gaze landing on Francis. She looked better than he had last seen her. Not as tired or skeletal. Her eyes were mournful, although they lit up with hope as she saw him.
Francis observed her for a moment, unsure what to say. It took him a moment before he went to move. "I was just leaving."
She caught his hand and pulled him into an embrace, her brow furrowing. "Leave...?" Her voice sounded strained, as if all the air had suddenly been knocked out of her body. "Why... why would you leave?"
