Owen woke up to a sky so grey it could’ve been early morning or late afternoon. He didn’t check the time. Didn’t care. He showered, dressed in silence, and drove to work with the same blank expression he wore to Leia’s funeral.
At the office, Beth made a point of keeping her distance.
He noticed.
She sat with other people at lunch. Took her break ten minutes early. Left the breakroom when he entered.
Good.
He liked her better when she was afraid of him.
---
When he got home, the house greeted him with silence. Not peace—just absence. A void where things used to be. Where voices used to echo. Where Leia’s footsteps used to fill the quiet like wind chimes in a storm.
Now?
Just Owen. The couch. The fridge. The beer.
He grabbed a bottle, twisted the cap, and collapsed into the seat l
