The silence after he left was worse than anything before it.
Not tense. Not loud. Just… still.
Like everything had paused. Waiting.
I sat on the bed, staring at the door long after it closed, replaying his last words over and over in my head.
This ends tonight.
I wanted to believe that. I really did.
But something in my chest wouldn’t settle.
Because nothing about this had been simple so far. And nothing about it felt like it was going to end cleanly.
I stood up after a while, pacing the small room again.
It felt smaller now. More closed in. Like the walls had moved in slightly. Like the air had changed.
My phone sat in my hand.
Silent.
For now.
I kept expecting it to buzz again. Another message. Another reminder that I wasn’t really alone.
That someone was always watching.
