(Lena)
I reached my room and closed the door behind me, letting the sound settle in the space instead of rushing past it. For a moment, I stayed where I was with my hand still on the knob and my bag hanging from my shoulder. The house was quiet beyond the door, but it didn’t give anything back, not even the kind of silence that made things easier to ignore. It felt settled without being calm, like something had shifted and decided to stay that way.
I set my bag down near the dresser and moved further inside without looking back toward the door again. My steps stayed steady, controlled in a way that came from habit rather than effort. I didn’t go to the bed right away, even though that was the only thing I wanted to do. Instead, I crossed to the dresser and focused on something simple eno
