Chris’s stammered excuse
Chris tried to stammer out an excuse, but Dereck cut him off. “Save it, Chris,” Dereck snapped, his tone icy.
Chris’s face went pale, and he swallowed hard, clearly at a loss for words. The tension in the room was suffocating, and I could see the panic in Chris’s eyes.
He was desperate, but Dereck was having none of it. The silence that followed was thick with unspoken accusations.