Love Unspoken

When Sean and the crew rolled back, it was already the next evening.

Sean and Matthew were chilling at the door, while Alexander was half-sprawled in a rocking chair. He had someone snag it yesterday 'cause he couldn't stand the tree stumps at Casey's place. Right then, Alexander was whittling away at a piece of wood. It was already looking kinda human-shaped.

After the last cut, he glanced over at Sean and Matthew.

"Did you check the house?" he asked.

"Yeah, we did," Sean replied.

"The secret passage, the basement, you check those too?" Alexander pressed.

Both of them went silent.

Sean scratched his neck, eyes darting everywhere but at Alexander.

Their silence said it all.

Alexander went back to his carving. "Figures, you guys can't do anything right." "Sorry," Sean mumbled.

"Don't bother. The fact you made it back alive is a miracle," Alexander scoffed.

Sean could tell Alexander was mocking him. From his tone, it was clear he didn't expect Sean to catch Landon.

Sean tried to defend himself, "We got a rough idea of where he is. Abigail's still alive and kicking. It's just a matter of time."

Quinn happened to walk out and overheard. She rushed over, "Abigail's still alive?"

"Yeah, she's with Landon, but..." Sean trailed off.

Quinn stared at him, nervous, "But what?"

"But it's just the two of them, which is kinda weird. Maybe all his goons bailed?" Sean guessed.

Hearing Abigail was alive, Quinn felt a bit relieved. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?" she asked.

"She's fine, even healthier than Landon," Sean answered.

"That's good," Quinn said, then suddenly realized something, "But you didn't bring her back?"

"We almost did, but Walter let them... no, he let Landon escape," Sean said, hanging his head in shame.

Quinn was stunned and instinctively glanced at Alexander. She couldn't understand why Walter would do that. Alexander raised his hand, signaling Sean and Matthew to leave. Sean nodded and left with Matthew.

"Alexander." Quinn squatted in front of him, staring intently, unsure where to start.

"What's up?" Alexander asked, looking down with a sly smile.

"Is what Sean said true?" Quinn asked.

"I didn't go with them, so I don't know," Alexander said.

Quinn was silent for a moment. It should be true; Sean wasn't as sneaky as Alexander.

"Then why did Walter let Landon go?" Quinn asked.

"Why don't you ask him? I don't know what he was thinking," Alexander sneered.

Catching Walter's mistake, his tone was firm when speaking to Quinn.

Quinn lowered her eyes, feeling let down by Walter.

Knowing how much she wanted to rescue Abigail, not only did he fail to bring her back, but he also let Landon take her away.

Alexander held her hand and said softly, "Don't worry. I'll bring Abigail back for you."

Quinn was taken aback.

"Even if it costs me my life, I won't let you down." He looked into Quinn's eyes, speaking earnestly and firmly, "I won't let you down again." Quinn's eyes flickered, and her expression grew complex.

Alexander suddenly frowned, touched his chest, and took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Quinn hurriedly asked.

"It hurts a bit," Alexander said, frowning.

"What should we do?" Quinn asked, standing up to pull him. "Let's go to the hospital."

"No need. Just rub it for me," Alexander said shamelessly.

Quinn stayed silent.