Amara pulled her little hatchback into the familiar neighborhood, headlights cutting through the dim street. She killed the engine with a sharp flick of her wrist, muttering under her breath. Kairen was going to get an earful tonight. First, he'd ditched their dinner, then ignored every single one of her calls. The man had better be curled up with a fever or something, because if not, she was going to drag him by his ear for worrying her like this.
Her heels clicked against the pavement as she strode to his door, already rehearsing the lines of her cuss-out. But as she knocked once, then again, louder silence answered her. The building hummed with stillness. No music, no shuffling inside, no Kairen.
From above, a window creaked open. A girl poked her head out, hair tied in a messy bun, squinting at Amara with mild annoyance.
"That fine neighbor of ours isn't home," she called down, "so maybe stop knocking? Some of us are trying to sleep."
