Natalie had stopped checking her phone.At some point, there was no longer any point in waiting for a message that would soften the silence between her and Becky. The apartment stayed exactly as Becky had left it—too quiet, too still, too aware of everything that had just happened inside it.The apology balloons were still floating above the living room like they hadn’t been told the truth yet. The dinner she had spent hours preparing remained untouched, slowly losing its warmth under the kitchen lights. Even the candles she had lit earlier still burned stubbornly, as if refusing to accept that the moment they were created for had already collapsed.Natalie sat on the edge of the couch for a long time, staring at nothing in particular, her hands loosely clasped together in her lap. Her thoughts didn’t come in a straight line anymore. They kept breaking apart, circling back, sharpening into something she didn’t fully want to acknowledge.Becky had left.Not just the apartment.Not just

Jared didn’t move immediately after asking the question.He stayed where he was, sitting slightly forward in the chair beside the bed, watching Becky carefully as if he could already tell the answer wasn’t going to be simple. The room felt quieter than it had a few minutes ago, like even the morning light had decided to soften itself out of respect for whatever came next.Becky didn’t answer right away either.She looked down at her hands, fingers loosely interlaced, then slowly exhaled through her nose. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm, but there was something restrained underneath it.“You might want to sit down for this.”Jared blinked once.That alone was enough to make his expression shift.“…That bad?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light, though it didn’t quite land.Becky didn’t respond immediately. She just gave a small nod.Jared hesitated for half a second, then pulled the chair closer to the bed and finally sat properly beside her. His posture changed instantl

The room remained quiet after Jared's last words.Morning sunlight still rested against the hardwood floor, but it no longer carried the warmth it had only minutes earlier. The untouched cup of coffee on the bedside table had begun to cool, thin wisps of steam fading into nothing as Becky sat motionless on the edge of the bed.Jared stayed by the window, his hands tucked into his pockets. He hadn't turned around yet. He was giving her space, sensing there was still more she wanted to say.Behind him, Becky lowered her gaze to her intertwined fingers. She rubbed her thumb absentmindedly across the back of her hand before letting out a slow breath."...I didn't tell you everything."Jared glanced over his shoulder.His expression didn't change much, but he quietly stepped away from the window and returned to the chair beside the bed. He sat without rushing her, resting his forearms on his knees."You don't have to if you're not ready," he said gently."I know."Becky managed a faint smi

The university campus had a way of turning silence into noise.By mid-morning, what had started as a few casual observations in passing conversations had already grown into something far less harmless. Students moved through walkways and lecture halls with lowered voices and quick glances, each person adding their own interpretation to gaps they knew nothing about.Becky’s absence was the first thing people noticed.She hadn’t shown up for her morning class, nor had she responded to messages in their group chats. At first, it was dismissed as normal—people missed lectures all the time. But by the second absence, then the third, curiosity began to replace assumption.Natalie’s disappearance only made things worse.She wasn’t someone who typically went unnoticed. Even when she wasn’t trying, she had a presence on campus—organized, punctual, always moving with a kind of controlled focus that made her easy to recognize. Now, she wasn’t showing up at all.And then there was Becky.Or rathe

Jessica had already decided she wasn’t going to wait for another unanswered call.The ride to Natalie’s apartment was quiet, the kind of silence that felt heavier than usual because it wasn’t chosen. She kept glancing out the window, her fingers loosely wrapped around her phone, as if another missed call or ignored message might somehow explain what she was about to walk into.By the time she reached the building, she had already tried Natalie twice more.No answer.The elevator ride felt longer than it should have. Jessica stood with her back against the wall, watching the floor numbers climb slowly, her expression tightening with each stop. Natalie didn’t ignore people like this. Not for this long. Not without saying something, even if it was just a short message to shut everyone up.When she finally reached the door, Jessica knocked once.No response.She knocked again, harder this time.Still nothing.Her jaw tightened as she pulled out her phone and tried calling one more time, l