CHAPTER 47: AFTER THE STORM
The morning after we returned home felt unreal in a way I couldn’t immediately explain. It wasn’t quiet in the way danger is quiet, it was quiet in the way peace hesitates before fully trusting itself. I woke up earlier than everyone else, as I had gotten used to doing, and stood in the kitchen just listening to the house breathe. No footsteps in the hall that didn’t belong to us. No tension in the walls. No need to check the locks twice before relaxing for a moment. Still, my body didn’t fully believe it yet. Trauma has a way of staying long after the threat is gone. I poured water into a glass and watched my hands steady slowly, like they were remembering how to exist without urgency. Behind me, Paul entered quietly, rubbing his eyes. “You’re up early,” he sa
