The door to Mark's apartment creaked open with a reluctant groan, the sound swallowed by the silence waiting inside.
He stepped in and shut it behind him with a quiet click, not bothering to turn on the lights. The evening glow filtered through the blinds in pale slats, casting thin shadows across the hardwood floor. His keys jingled in his hand, then dropped with a dull clatter onto the counter.
He stood in the middle of the room for a moment, staring blankly ahead.
The place felt colder than usual. Emptier.
Lonelier.
He walked to the couch and sat down heavily, elbows on his knees, hands clasped tight as if trying to hold himself together. The apartment wasn’t messy—he was too disciplined for that—but it had the lifeless stillness of a space untouched by laughter, conversation… or l
