59.

Days turned into weeks, and life began to feel strangely steady. Cade showed up on time. He texted her good morning. He remembered small things, her favorite snack, her annoying habit of humming in the shower, the way she hated silence during dinner.

He was showing consistency, something she didn’t realize she’d been craving all along.

Then one morning, Zara found a folded note stuck to her door. She frowned, thinking it was another of his dirty jokes.

But when she opened it, her breath caught.

You used to hate my notes. Now it’s my favorite way to tell you I love you.

She pressed the paper to her chest, a small smile tugging at her lips.

That evening, she slipped one of her own under his door.

You talk too much, you tease too much, you’re impossible. But somehow, I can’t imagine a day without you.

When he found it, Cade grinned so wide his cheeks hurt.

He kept the note. Then the next one. Then the next. Each one a small piece of her heart left for him to find.

Soon, his drawer was fu