As usual, when they arrive, Kyle heads straight to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a soft click, the steady hum of water soon following.
The sound lingers in the room like an echo of his presence, but it's quickly swallowed by the silence.
Ashen stands alone in the middle of the room. The quiet is different now.. heavier, more suffocating, as if the space itself is pressing in on him.
His eyes move to the bed. It still holds traces of their last night together, faint imprints of the warmth he had felt before, when they were tangled in something that almost felt like it could be more than just a fleeting connection.
He exhales sharply, a tight breath escaping as he lowers himself onto the edge of the mattress. His palms press into the cool sheets.
Kyle called us strangers.
The words circle in his mind like a dull ache, the sting sharper than he expected.
