All Chapters of After, The Silence : Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

Jordan Elaine learned how to measure her days in absences.Not the dramatic kind, and no slammed doors, no raised voices, no obvious cruelty that could be pointed to and named. Jay wasn’t that kind of husband. He didn’t rage or belittle or disappear for days without explanation. His neglect was quieter. More refined. The kind that slipped into a marriage so gently it took years to realize something essential had gone missing.She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, smoothing a hand over her blouse for the third time. Navy blue. Conservative. Jay-approved. She’d chosen it without thinking, the way she chose most things now, and by instinctively avoiding anything that might invite comment.“You look fine,” she whispered to her reflection, though her eyes didn’t quite believe her.Behind her, the bedroom remained untouched on Jay’s side of the bed. The sheets were crisp, perfectly aligned. He’d been gone since before sunrise, leaving behind the faint scent of his cologne and the impre

Jordan woke with the uneasy sense that something had already gone wrong.It wasn’t a nightmare, and nothing so dramatic. It was subtler than that. A pressure beneath her ribs. A tightness in her throat. The feeling that the ground beneath her feet had shifted while she slept, just enough to make balance uncertain.Jay was already gone.His side of the bed was smooth, untouched, the sheets tucked with military precision. She stared at the empty space longer than necessary, then rolled onto her back and let out a slow breath. Somewhere between the ceiling fan’s soft whir and the pale light filtering through the curtains, she felt it again.Absence.She showered, dressed, moved through her morning routine on autopilot. Coffee brewed. Toast burned. She scraped it off without caring and ate it anyway, standing at the counter, scrolling through emails she barely registered.Her phone buzzed.Calloway:Morning. Did you sleep?She hesitated before answering.Jordan:Not really.Three dots app

The silence followed Jordan into her dreams.Not the gentle kind that came with sleep, but the heavy, pressing quiet that wrapped around her thoughts and refused to let go. When she woke, it was with the sense that something had been left unfinished, and words unsaid, choices delayed too long.Jay was already gone.Again.Jordan lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling as pale morning light traced familiar shadows across the room. She counted her breaths. In. Out. Steady. Controlled. It was easier to begin the day when she reminded herself not to expect anything different.She rose, dressed, moved through the apartment as though it were a museum exhibit rather than a home. Nothing disturbed. Nothing personal. The coffee maker hummed; the toaster popped. She left the mug untouched on the counter when she realized she wasn’t thirsty.At the arts center, the routine unfolded exactly as it always did.She filed paperwork, answered emails, listened to conversations that didn’t requir