"I'm really sorry for causing so much trouble for you tonight, especially stopping you from getting rest. I saw that you'd already turned the lights off earlier." Pearl pointed in the direction of his room.

Darius smiled and shook his head. "You don't need to worry about these things. In any case, I wasn't asleep yet. If I were, I wouldn't have come downstairs because I heard you crying."

Pearl looked surprised, unsure how to respond to this. She knew Darius was trying to alleviate her guilt ov