(Noah)
I was awake before the alarm.
The room was still dark enough that shapes hadn't fully settled yet, but my head was already moving through the day before my feet touched the floor. Too many pieces were in motion for sleep to hold me long. Once I opened my eyes, the work was there waiting.
I got dressed, made coffee, and stood in the kitchen with the mug in my hand while the first light started to come through the windows. The apartment was quiet. Across the hall, her door stayed closed. I didn't stand there looking at it. I didn't need to. Knowing she was on the other side of that hallway had become its own awareness.
Last night had gone the way it needed to go. I hadn't knocked. I hadn't pushed. I had given her room and left it there. That wasn't me backing off. It was me unders
