(Aspen’s POV)
The house settled into a rhythm I didn’t trust.
It happened quietly.
No conversation where anyone agreed this was how things would be now. It just… started one day. We had a quiet understanding. Everything that may or may not have happened was to be forgotten. We were both doing our jobs. And I finally felt like I could do mine.
Slade left early that morning for practice. I knew because I heard the door from the main house close, felt it more than heard it. I checked my phone out of habit, expecting a message telling me what he needed or where he wanted me.
There was nothing.
Instead, ten minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Did you eat?
I stared at the screen longer than necessary.
Yes, I typed back.
Good.
That was it. No follow up.
It unsettled me more than if he had
