011

Lena

“Stay here.”

The command sank into me deeper than the words themselves. A voice that didn’t allow room for question. My legs locked even though my mind screamed to move.

I watched him cross the kitchen, every step forward, shoulders filling the doorway like a wall. He didn’t even look back. Just left me there, spoon hanging limp in my hand, pasta bubbling over the top of the pot like it was the only thing still behaving normally in the room.

The front door clicked again, followed by the thud of heels on the tiles.

A familiar rhythm.

Chloe.

Of course it was her. Who else would crash in past midnight with that careless toss of keys, that too-loud laugh into the phone before cutting it short when she saw where she was?

“Mark?” her voice carried down the hall, sharp and questioning.

“Yes.”

His reply was steady, calm, but his tone had shifted. Gone was the private heat he’d used on me seconds ago. This one was smooth.

I stepped back from the stove, wishing it could swallow me whole