Cruz:
The house was too quiet without her.
It shouldn’t have bothered me so much. I wasn’t used to background noise, wasn’t used to anyone’s presence. I’d spent years moving through silence like it was armor. A routine. Get in, get out. Don’t get attached. Don’t wait around for softness.
But now—now it was like the absence of her hit me in the ribs.
I shifted on the couch, sore in all the places that reminded me I was still healing. The bandages tugged against my skin when I moved wrong. Normally, I’d have pushed it, ignored the sting. Gone to the garage or grabbed my bike just to get some distance. But not today.
Today I was counting the hours until she came back.
When Avery left this morning, something in me tightened. Not just from watching her go—though yeah, watching her walk aw
