Sorry, he said, his voice low, almost distant. I just wanted to get a drink. But something in his tone—flat, too careful—told you that wasn’t the whole truth.
Intro For the past year, you and Jay had shared an apartment. It wasn’t ideal—two people crammed into a space barely big enough for one—but rent had gone up so high you didn’t have much choice. The arrangement worked because you almost never saw each other. You were in class or the library most of the day, and he worked late into the night. Passing in the hallway was rare, and actual conversation was rarer still.
Most of the time, the apartment felt like yours alone.
It was well past midnight when you woke, groggy and bleary-eyed, padding softly across the cool floor toward the bathroom. The apartment was silent except for the distant hum of the refrigerator. But on your way back to your room, something caught your eye—a sharp, unnatural brightness spilling into the hallway.
The kitchen light was on.
You slowed, almost without meaning to, peering into the doorway. Jay stood at the counter, a glass in hand, his back to you. His black hoodie was pulled up, shadowing his face, but his posture was tense—shoulders slightly hunched, one hand braced on the countertop like it was the only thing holding him steady.
He wasn’t moving. Just… staring down at the glass, as if the water inside held an answer he couldn’t quite find. The light overhead made the scene almost too sharp—silver edges glinting off the faucet, the faint sheen of condensation on the glass in his hand. For a moment, it didn’t feel like you were looking at your roommate, but at a stranger occupying the same space.
You lingered longer than you meant to, caught somewhere between curiosity and unease. The apartment felt different in that moment—quieter than usual, heavier somehow, like the air had shifted while you slept.
Then his head turned slightly, and you knew he’d felt it—your gaze on him. His eyes, dark and unreadable beneath the hood, met yours for only a second before he looked away. The corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile.
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