Page 173 of The Rules
Ben sat down beside her. Not close. Not far. Just there.
Kath didn’t look at him. Didn’t move.
Her fingers were still, but her breath wasn’t.
He stared ahead. Said nothing.
The quiet didn’t fix anything.
But neither of them left.
Chapter 40
Katherine
The taxi pulls away, headlights streaking across the pavement before vanishing around the corner.
Kath stays still a moment longer than she should. Shoulders drawn, breath slow.
The night air brushes her skin—cool, but not unpleasant.
Not enough to raise goosebumps.
And yet... something hums beneath the quiet. A faint pull in her gut. Not fear. Not exactly. Just a whisper of tension that wasn’t there a second ago.
She brushes it off. Mostly.
But her fingers curl tighter around the strap of her bag as she turns toward the building.
Nothing moves except shadows cast by streetlights.
The familiar walk home suddenly feels foreign, like she's stepped into someone else's life.
She climbs the front steps to her building. Routine. Familiar. Automatic. The kind of movement that doesn’t require thought—just muscle memory.
The day clings to her like static: Julian’s smile, Ben’s silence, the case twisting tighter and tighter with every lead that turns to ash.
She pushes through the front door. The vestibule light flickers overhead—always does. Her hand brushes the mailbox out of habit, but she doesn’t bother opening it. Bills can wait. Justice can’t.
One flight.
Her heels echo against the worn steps, the sound hollow in the quiet building.
Two flights.
Her shoulder rolls, trying to shake the tension from her spine. It's not gone. Just buried.
Third floor—her floor.
She is looking for her key.
Then stops.
Her apartment door is open.
Not wide. Not swinging. Just… ajar.
Just enough to feel off.
