Chapter 3

Late Nights

The shift happened so gradually I almost didn’t notice it at first.

Maya had always been the type to stay up late scrolling or rewatching the same three shows, but by the end of the first week she started claiming exhaustion earlier. Bookstore shifts, summer heat, the general drift of someone who had never needed much sleep to begin with whatever the reason, she began disappearing upstairs around ten with a yawn and a vague promise to “finish the episode tomorrow.” The living room would fall quiet. The kitchen light would stay on. And somehow, without ever discussing it, Adrian and I started remaining downstairs longer...