The apartment was still, the kind of stillness that wrapped around the room like a heavy cloak. It was the sort of silence that only came after a long day, when the world had moved on and left behind its tired echoes. Valerie’s apartment, usually so filled with the hum of activity, now felt as though the air itself was holding its breath.
Laura had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up beneath a thick blanket, her gentle breathing steady and calm. The soft light of the TV flickered against the darkened walls, casting long, wavering shadows across the room. Valerie sat nearby, her legs stretched out in front of her, her hands resting in her lap. Her mind, once lost in the comfort of the game, now churned with a thousand thoughts she couldn’t quiet.
She didn’t know how long she had been si
