(Cole)
I woke up at five thirty without an alarm.
My mind was already moving by then and sleep had become something I was tolerating rather than doing. I got up and made coffee and stood in the kitchen while it brewed.
Ryan had sent a summary the night before about the expert assessment preparation. I read through it at my desk with the first cup. Everything was in order. Gerald's motion hadn't come in yet which meant it was arriving today or tomorrow. I was already prepared for it either way.
I closed the laptop.
The morning was quiet and I sat with it but the quiet wasn't empty the way it used to be. It had a shape to it now. A specific shape that had arrived without permission and hadn't left since.
Lena.
I thought about her the way I thought about cases I wasn't willing to lose.
