Chapter 4

Details Matter.

Sage

The apartment door slammed shut behind me, the sound echoing through the dim space like punctuation on another adrenaline-laced night. I kicked off my boots, tugged off the blood-splattered hoodie, and let it fall to the floor without a second thought. The weight of the night hung on me like a second skin, sticky and cold, but all I wanted, no, needed was comfort. Naomi was already curled up on the couch, flipping through channels like it mattered. It didn’t. Not when I had him on my mind. I dropped onto the cushions and flopped sideways, letting my head land in her lap like a child seeking warmth.

“Well hello to you too, she muttered with a soft grin, shifting beneath me to get comfortable. Her fingers automatically found their way to my hair, threading through the strands with familiar case. “How’s your little boyfriend today?”

I sighed, Heavy, Long. The kind that carried all the things I could never say out loud.

‘He’s so perfect. He looked at me tonight.”

Naomi paused mid-stroke. “Like looked at you looked at you?” Her voice tilted upward in disbelief.