For the next three days, Alexander did the hardest thing he had ever done: nothing.
He didn't show up at the store. He didn't wait by the elevator. He didn't even have Marcus send him "check-in" reports. He stayed in his apartment, or he went to the corporate office, forcing himself to exist in the silence Adrian had requested.
Adrian, for his part, felt the shift immediately. The "watched" feeling vanished. The air felt lighter, but paradoxically, the silence was louder than he expected. He worked his shifts, laughed with Sage, and split rent with Jacob, but his eyes constantly drifted toward the door of 6A every time he walked down the hallway.
He had his space. And it was terrifyingly empty.
On Friday night, Adrian was finishing a late shift at the pub(that nkw had a new owner). He was tired, his back aching, but he felt a sense of pride in his honest labor. He was about to clock out when he saw a familiar figure sitting at a dark corner table, far away from the light.
