✤ Adrian ✤
By Friday evening, the house no longer felt like my own. It felt like something suspended, waiting, expectant, tense in a way that sat low in my stomach and tightened every time I checked the clock. I had spent the entire day distracting myself with useless tasks, the biggest being the garage. I cleaned it out, swept it twice, reorganized the shelves, and even wiped down the old cupboards I hadn’t touched in years. All for one purpose: I wanted Sera’s car inside. I wanted it safe. Hidden. Not left in the open field behind my house like something shameful. It wasn’t much. It wasn’t romance. It wasn’t even a gesture I knew how to explain. But it had felt right. By six, everything was ready. The garage was cleared. The house was clean. The guest room was made, just in case. Dinner
