✽ Mandy ✽
Two months had passed since I moved into Jason’s apartment, and it still felt strange to say it out loud. Not because the place didn’t fit, but because I did. I fit here now, beside him, after everything. My mornings started with coffee and the soft hum of the city below. Jason woke early, not restless, but purposeful. He did his online courses at the kitchen counter while I got ready for work, and he always asked where I was going, the way we agreed. It didn’t feel like a leash anymore. It felt like a check-in.
A promise that we were present in each other’s lives.
I had gotten a job at a bakery near the building. Melted Crumbs. It was small, warm, and always busy, with pastries that made people stop in the doorway just to stare. The owner, Maris, cared about my hands and my
