The dorm room was still, cloaked in shadows despite the soft glow of the desk lamp. Noel sat at his table, textbooks splayed open before him, pen idle between his fingers. But he wasn't reading. Not really.
His eyes drifted across the same paragraph for the third time, but nothing stayed.
The ticking of the wall clock was louder than usual. The hum of the air conditioner too constant, too steady. It all made the silence feel more deliberate. Like the room knew he was waiting.
He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the phone beside his notebook.
Still no response.
He tapped it, unlocking the screen. Luca's message from earlier sat there:
"On my way soon."
But "soon" had come and gone.
Noel bit his lip, eyes narrowing. He opened their chat, typed "Are you okay?" then stared at the blinking cursor. Seconds passed. He erased it.
Instead, he replied to the old message with a simple:
"You still out?"
A minute passed. Nothing.
