Chapter 220

• The morning of Julian’s departure arrived with a strange weight that sat on my chest before I even opened my eyes. The light through the curtains was pale, the kind that belongs to a day already decided for you, and I lay still for a long time listening to the soft rhythm of his movements around the room. He was always gentle in the mornings, careful not to disturb me even when he knew I would be awake, and today he was even quieter than usual, as though he too wanted to delay the inevitable moment when the distance between us would begin to grow.
• I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket around my shoulders, and watched him fold the last of his shirts into his suitcase. He had packed most of his things the night before, but there were always the last minute pieces, the items too familiar to put away too soon. He turned when he felt my gaze, his smile tender but carrying the same weight I felt pressing against me.
• “You should rest a little longer,” he said, though his eyes betrayed that he wanted me close, that he was glad I had stirred.