ARIA
I watched him from the window until the car disappeared around the corner.
One blink, and he was gone.
Just like that.
It was strange how easily the morning folded in on itself, as if the last eighteen hours had been some fever dream stitched out of heat and breath and touch. The bed still smelled like him, my skin still bore the proof of him, and yet watching that taillight vanish felt like waking up from something that had never really happened.
I stayed there too long, one hand braced against the glass, waiting for the ache in my chest to even out.
"Hey," Sarah said softly behind me. Her hand found my shoulder, gentle but insistent, her thumb brushing a small circle against my shirt. "You're doing that thing again—thinking too hard."
I forced a small laugh, turning back to her. "Maybe I am."
"Come on," she said, tugging lightly at my arm. "You'll go crazy staring out the window. Sit down, eat something before it gets cold."
