The house felt different when I woke up that morning.
Not louder. Not quieter. Just calmer somehow. Like the walls themselves had finally exhaled after holding tension for too long.
The kind of silence that settles after a storm—not empty, but peaceful. For the first time in days, maybe weeks, I didn’t wake with that tight feeling in my chest, like something was waiting to go wrong.
I lay there for a moment staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint sounds of movement downstairs.
The old house creaked softly in the morning air, the familiar noises oddly comforting. Sunlight spilled through the curtains in pale gold streaks, warming the blanket tangled around my legs.
Half asleep, I rolled onto my side and reached for Liam automatically. My hand brushed across cold sheets before
