CHAPTER 20: SHIFTING
✦ 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓 ✦
The house was unusually quiet when I woke, and by six-thirty, I was pulling on my sneakers and moving as quietly as possible. The memory of getting caught outside Xavier's study the night before still lingered like a burn beneath my skin, so I grabbed my backpack and slipped into the hallway, hoping that if I left now, maybe I could avoid seeing him altogether.
I made it to the bottom of the staircase before the heavy door to Richard Cole's study opened and Xavier stepped out. He was already dressed for work in a charcoal suit with a leather folder tucked beneath one arm, but despite his polished appearance, exhaustion clung to him with dark shadows sitting beneath his eyes and a faint layer of stubble shadowing his jaw.
I froze beside the front doo
