The city outside Selena's apartment buzzed faintly, muffled by the thick walls and closed windows. When she finally stepped through the front door, the noise dimmed into a hollow kind of silence that wrapped around her like an old, forgotten coat. The overhead light in the hallway flickered as she kicked off her shoes and let the door fall shut behind her.
Sam wasn't there.
She paused at the threshold, almost expecting him to call out from the kitchen or to hear the low sound of his music from the bedroom. But there was nothing. Only the quiet stillness of her apartment was dim and undisturbed. Her heart sagged with something that wasn't quite relief.
Maybe he had gone back to his place.
