✽ Jason ✽
Mandy changed in small ways first. Her smiles still came, her kisses still lingered, but her eyes started watching me when she thought I wouldn’t notice. She asked questions that sounded casual and landed like traps. She paused before answering mine. She held her phone tighter. She was quieter and more subdued. Almost as if she was hiding. Most people thought I missed things. They mistook my silence for absence. I heard everything. I saw everything. I built patterns the way other people built excuses. A week after Valentine’s Day, Mandy walked into the apartment and set her bag down with care, like she didn’t want to make noise. She glanced at the corners of the living room. It was the strangest thing, but it was almost as if she was looking for something.
Something hidden, and
