Evening had already crept into the room before Amelia realized she was awake.
At first, she didn’t move. She lay perfectly still, eyes open, staring at the dim ceiling as soft shadows stretched across the walls like velvet. The air felt heavy and quiet, as if the world were holding its breath before the night fully arrived. Outside, the sky had turned that deep, uncertain shade of indigo that comes just before the darkness swallows everything whole.
Her body ached faintly—the kind of tiredness that doesn’t come from physical labor alone, but from emotions that refuse to rest. Memories of the previous night flickered through her mind: the pulsing lights, the thumping bass, the sea of faces, and him. She closed her eyes briefly, exhaled the tension, and finally sat up.
It was late.
T
