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The bed is made too tightly.Corners tucked crisp.A book placed on the nightstand perfectly squared with the edge.No stray clothes.No clutter.Nothing personal out except a small framed photo turned face-down.

I don’t flip it over.

That’s a line I won’t cross.

But I feel the weight of it.

A memory she doesn’t want to see.

Maybe him.

Maybe before him.

Maybe the version of herself she’s scared she’ll never get back.

I check the closet.

The window.

The fire escape.

The door frame.

No scratches.

No forced entry.

No tampering.

Whoever was at the game wasn’t here.

For tonight, that matters.

I exhale, only now realizing I’d been holding my breath through every room.

My phone vibrates in my pocket.

KAEL: Area’s clear.You?

ME: Her place is clean.

KAEL: You sure.

ME: Yes.Nothing forced.Nothing moved.

KAEL: Stay a little longer.

ME: She asleep?

KAEL: Finn says she’s calm.

ME: Good.

Calm.

That word slices me open from the inside.

I see her in my head—curled into Finn’s side in the car, eyes heavy, breath shaky, body finally relaxing because someone warm and soft is holding her.