Octavia barely knew he was there, honestly. The comfort only got in at a subconscious level: the rest of her was now stuck on thoughts looping in on themselves, over and over.

What if Duke was never coming back?

(What if she'd driven him away and he just hadn't wanted to tell her?)

The worst of the crying seemed to subside eventually, though. She was at least starting to sound like she could actually breathe again.