The door clicked shut behind them.
Owen barely heard it.
Touchdown celebrations flickered across the muted TV, the living room soaked in a dim blue glow. The beer on the table had gone flat. The carpet still held a dark ring where the bottle had rolled and leaked. He didn’t bother cleaning it. Didn’t flinch when the floor creaked behind him.
The bathroom door opened.
Evan stepped out, rubbing his hands on the thighs of his jeans. His eyes landed on Owen first, then drifted to the tipped-over box, the abandoned bags, the silence.
“Whoa,” he said, voice light, trying for humor. “I go take a leak and everybody abandons ship?”
Owen didn’t look up. “Gone.”
Evan blinked. “Gone gone?”
“They left.” Owen sipped his beer like he hadn’t almost been punched fifteen minutes earlier. “Didn’t say
