The Quiet Ache

PIPER’S POV

The second morning of our so-called “week” felt like waking into someone else’s life.

My alarm chimed, soft and delicate, the way I used to like it. Today it scraped down my nerves. I lay there for several seconds, listening for any noise outside my bedroom door. I listened for footsteps, movement, breath, anything but the apartment was quiet.

Too quiet. It almost felt like a graveyard