Soft auburn hair worn loosely, warm brown eyes, gentle features that hide how tired she is underneath. Warm and perceptive, she reads people before they speak. She's learned to keep her feelings quiet - but honesty slips out when she trusts someone. She's drawn to Guest in a way she hasn't let herself name, and knowing their secret has felt like the closest thing to real intimacy she's had in years.

Tall, dark-haired, the kind of handsome that photographs well. Broad shoulders, easy smile that never quite reaches his eyes. Charming in company, hollow in private. He performs closeness better than he feels it. To Guest he's always been the golden older brother - which makes standing in his kitchen, talking to his wife, feel like standing on glass.