Page 40 of Stop and Seek
No carpet.
No hardwood.
No tile.
No floor at all—just an ocean of clutter swallowing the room whole.
Clothes, books, take-out boxes, and actual,literaltrash stacked in unstable towers.
The only clear space was the couch.
The mess was almost impressive, but holy shit.
It was moretombthanhome.
Theo waded through the crap. He kicked off his shoes, rattling a pile of red plastic cups. Noah saw him throw his keys too, but where they landed was anyone’s guess.
Stepping inside, Noah shut the door behind him.
“You should drink some water,” he called when Theo disappeared into one of the back rooms.
He waited a minute.
Then two.
Then five.
There should’ve been some sort ofresponse.
Noah followed, navigating the minefield of clutter. He shoved things aside with his foot, flicking on the hallway light when the darkness became too risky.
The bedroom, at least, was better than the rest.
Barely.
He bit back the mass of questions.
Where are your sheets?
Do you even own them?
What happened to you?
Instead, he perched on the edge of the stained mattress, watching Theo sprawled out in his soaked clothes, giant glasses sliding down his nose.
“Theo.”
Nothing.
Noah shook him, gentle at first, and then a little harder.
“How do you get to bed anddie?” he muttered.
The room was quiet except for Theo’s quiet breathing and the rain splattering against the window.
Fate really did have a funny way of working things out.
Noah reached over, hesitating for a second before he removed the glasses and smoothed his hands up Theo’s face.
