**ADAM**
Justin doesn’t knock when he comes into my office, because he never has, and because if he did I would already be too tightly wound to tolerate the sound. He closes the door behind him with deliberate care instead, the click of it settling into the space like punctuation, and I don’t look up right away because I already know what he’s here to say.
“You’re going to break something,” he says calmly.
I finish signing the report in front of me, set the pen down with more force than necessary, and only then lift my gaze. “Good evening to you too.”
He snorts and leans back against the wall, arms folding across his chest, posture loose in the way only someone who has known me most of his life can manage. “You’ve been grinding your teeth for three hours. If the walls could talk, they’
