Morning came soft and gray, the kind that made the world feel half-awake and uncertain. My apartment still smelled faintly of bleach and damp wood, a reminder of last night’s chaos. The towels were piled by the door, the floorboards warped in a thin ripple that caught the light like a scar. I told myself it was fine, that I could live with it, that I’d fix it, but every time I walked past, I saw more than just damage. I saw him. The way he’d moved through the water, calm and sure, his voice cutting through panic like a compass.
Coffee hissed in the pot, and I stood barefoot by the counter, trying to feel normal. I had a day’s worth of edits to finish, a deadline I’d already blown past, and a house that still needed work. The list was long. The problem was Rouger’s name kept floating to th
