Noel woke to the sharp pounding inside his skull and the stale taste of whiskey still clinging to his mouth.
For a few seconds, he lay still, staring at the ceiling of the flat that suddenly felt colder than it had ever been before. The silence pressed in around him. No movement from the kitchen. No sound of Luna making coffee. No irritated muttering when he had left his shoes in the hallway again.
Nothing.
Because Luna was gone.
The memory of it all hit him like a punch to the chest. Her face when she found out. The disgust in her eyes. The way she had walked out without shouting, which somehow felt worse than if she had screamed.
He rolled onto his side and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. Three missed calls from work. Two messages from Mira. One final demand from his mothe
