Zoe's POV
The moment the door closed behind Seth, silence rushed in like a tide, swallowing every other sound. I didn't realize how tightly I'd been holding my breath until my lungs finally released it. My body felt heavy with exhaustion — not the kind sleep could fix, but the kind that settled into your bone, thought and heartbeat.
I sank back onto the bed, letting my head fall into the pillows. The mattress dipped, sighing under my weight, almost mimicking how I felt inside.
Something tugged at me — a small, irritating pull beneath my ribs — but I couldn't explain it. It wasn't quite fear. Not exactly guilt. Not anxiety either. It was something else, something unnamed, hovering just beneath awareness.
Maybe it was everything at once.
