Chapter 19: He tried before?
Enzo’s POV
After the conversation with Oliver, things shifted. He started avoiding me, barely making eye contact during our shifts, always finding a reason to walk away. It made my day less stressful at least he was respecting my wishes.
By the time my shift ended, it was late and I was running on fumes. Every bone in my body ached, my head was foggy, and I could barely keep my eyes open on the ride home. The moment I stepped inside, the door creaked shut behind me with a sound that echoed too loudly in the quiet of the apartment. I kicked my shoes off without a second thought, not caring where they landed—probably halfway across the room, maybe one under the coffee table. Whatever.
All I wanted was sleep.
I trudged down the hallway like a ghost, my steps slow and dragging. Once inside my bedroom, I didn’t even bother flipping the light switch. The soft glow from the streetlamp outside filtered in through the blinds, casting faint lines across the bed. I didn’t change. Didn’t wash up. Didn’t think. I just collapsed face-first onto the mattress, the coolness of the sheets against my skin making me exhale a long, shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in all day.
For a moment, the silence was everything. A soft kind of mercy. A brief pause in the chaos of my thoughts.
But it didn’t last long.
"You look tired."
The voice was silky, smooth, and far too familiar. It cut through the stillness like a knife wrapped in velvet.