Chapter 121

The house was too quiet.

Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the heavy one that pressed against the chest and made every sound feel louder than it should. The kind of silence that followed storms, arguments, truths spoken too late.

She sat by the window, knees pulled to her chest, watching the night swallow the road outside. The streetlights flickered once, twice, then steadied. Somewhere in the distance, a car passed, its headlights cutting briefly through the darkness before ...