Jacob
The silence was overwhelming, wrapping around me like a suffocating shroud. It pulsed through the apartment with its heartbeat, thick and oppressive, pressing against my eardrums until I could hear the rush of my blood.
I sat curled on the balcony, knees drawn to my chest like a child hiding from monsters. Outside, the city lights blurred through the rain-streaked glass.
The rhythmic tapping of water against the pane matched the nervous drumming of my fingers against my thigh… a rhythmic beat of anxiety that wouldn't quiet.
Nathan remained oblivious to the chaos unfolding in my brain. From the corner of my eyes, I watched him bent over his laptop at the dining table, the blue glow of the screen painting his features in an otherworldly light.
His forehead wrinkled in concentr
