Chapter 26: Goodnight, Anyway

The drive home felt longer than the one there, even though I took the same roads.

By the time I got to my building, I'd parked, killed the engine, and sat there for another full minute before I made myself go up.

Chloe was the first thing I saw when I walked in. She was on the couch with her legs pulled up under her, the TV running low on some show neither of us had ever watched. Her phone was in her hand, but the screen had gone dark a while ago and she hadn't touched it.

She'd been waiting for me.

I closed the door behind me and set my keys down. She didn't look over right away. When she finally did, there wasn't a single joke on her face. No teasing, no pout, nothing she usually reached for first.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey."

I crossed the room and sat on the other end of the couch, close enough that it wasn't a wall between us, far enough that it wasn't a conversation yet.