My life has always been a quiet loop—
Home. Work. Home again.
I've never minded it, not really. There's a kind of comfort in this routine, knowing what each day will bring. No surprises, no sharp turns. Just the hum of routine and the silence that waits for me at the end of every day.
People ask if I get lonely. I say no. And for the most part, it's true. I talk to people. I smile. Liam, especially, makes sure I don't stay in the background for too long. He's always been... persistent and honest like that.
But there are nights when the silence stretches a little too far. When the stillness isn't comforting, but heavy. When even the glow of my phone feels like company.
That night, I was just scrolling—mindlessly tapping through pictures, updates, noise. Then I saw it: a friend request.
Ryusei.
The name caught me off guard. Familiar—not from my life, but from screens and songs and headlines. A celebrity name. Probably fake. Some joke. My thumb hovered over delete.
But I didn't tap it.
Instead, I let curiosity win.
Accept. One click.
I didn't know what I was letting in. Didn't realize how a name—just pixels on a screen—could start unraveling everything I thought I had safely tucked away.
I didn't know that silence could fall so suddenly... or so loud.