Mira noticed the change before she understood it.
It wasn’t something dramatic or sudden. There was no single moment she could point to and say that’s when everything shifted. Instead, it was a collection of small things—glances held a fraction too long, conversations that drifted into silence without discomfort, the way Eli’s presence had begun to feel less like shelter and more like choice.
That realization both comforted and frightened her.
She woke early that morning, the apartment still quiet, the city not yet awake. For once, her chest wasn’t tight with dread. The fear still existed, yes, but it had softened, no longer the sharp edge it once was.
She moved quietly into the kitchen and found a note on the counter.
Went for a run. Back soon. –E
She smiled before she could stop he
