Chapter 217 Mfxd 9

• 9
• Ava.
• Jake went out with friends and the house exhaled. The quiet afterward felt like a held note; even the refrigerator seemed to hum softer, like it knew better than to interrupt. Daniel did the dishes one plate at a time, not slow enough to be suspicious but slow enough that I noticed. I dried and put things away without looking at him too much, which of course meant I was watching him without looking, tracking him by the sound of the water and where his shadow moved on the wall. We didn’t say “good night” when the last fork was put away. We just… drifted into the living room, like the night had drawn a string from both of us and was pulling.