Ari didn't sleep.
Eli knew that before he even opened his eyes.
The apartment had a rhythm when Ari slept. It was subtle something most people would miss but Eli had lived with him long enough to recognize it. The faint hitch in Ari's breathing when he rolled onto his side. The soft creak of the mattress when his weight shifted. Even the way the air itself seemed calmer, settled, when Ari finally let himself rest.
This morning, there was none of that.
Just silence.
Not peaceful silence. The kind that pressed against Eli's ears until his chest tightened.
He lay still for several seconds, staring at the ceiling, listening harder than he should've had to.
Nothing.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Ari sat on the edge of the bed, knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped around himself
