Nora

The house felt colder when I got back.

Maybe it was the air conditioning, or maybe it was the way silence settled across the rooms like dust that never got cleaned.

I slipped my shoes off at the door and padded quietly through the hallway, passing glossy picture frames and furniture that looked like it belonged in a catalog, not a home.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Amelia: You home?

Nora: Yeah. Just got back.

Amelia: Don’t overthink everything. You’re allowed to exist.

I stared at the screen a little longer than I meant to.

Amelia always said things like that. Like she knew I was doing it without even being there to see it.

I was halfway to the stairs when I heard footsteps behind me. Slow, steady, and familiar in a way I didn’t like admitting.

I turned, and there he was.

Axton.

He looked like he hadn’t slept, but maybe that was just his default. His hoodie was wrinkled, one hand shoved in his pocket, the other gripping a glass of water like it was a shield.

“Back already?” he asked.

I raised a brow. “Didn’t realize I had a curfew.”

He didn’t answer first. Just leaned slightly against the wall, watching me the way people look at puzzles missing a few pieces.

I hated the way he could stand so casually and still make everything feel more tense.

“I didn’t say that,” he replied. “Just didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“You sound disappointed.”

He tilted his head, just a little. “I’m not.”

I stared at him. Waiting. But he didn’t say anything else. Just stood there, his eyes unreadable. The silence stretched, and I could feel it settling between us.. thick, unspoken, and restless.

“You always this vague, or is it just with me?” I asked finally.

“Maybe I like to keep you guessing.”

The words were too casual. Too carefully delivered. Like he’d meant for them to be offhand but watched me too closely as he said them.

I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“I don’t have the energy to guess what you mean,” I said. “And I’m not here to play games.”

He gave a small nod, and for a moment, something passed through his expression. It wasn’t anger. Not smugness either.

It was… curious.

Like I’d said something he wasn’t expecting.

“You should get some rest,” I added. “You look like hell.”

I turned before he could answer and headed up the stairs, heart beating faster than I wanted to admit. 

I didn’t look back but I could feel his eyes on me all the way up.