𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘸 ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

It was still dark out.

The room was quiet — the kind of quiet that only exists at 4:07 a.m., when even the birds haven’t started yet and the world feels like it’s on pause. The glow from the moon filtered through your window blinds, painting faint lines of silver across the blanket tangled over both of you.

Silas blinked awake slowly, like his brain hadn’t quite caught up to the fact that he wasn’t in his own bed. The first thing he felt was your hand resting against his chest, soft and still. The second was the familiar weight of guilt settling in his chest as he reached for his phone on your nightstand.

4:07 AM [1 new message] MOM: “You were supposed to be home by 1. You okay?”

He winced.

Careful not to shift you too much, Silas slowly peeled the blanket off, barely breathing as he swung his legs over the edge of your bed. The wooden floor was cold under his socks, and his hoodie — the one you’d borrowed earlier and thrown on the floor — was wrinkled but warm when he slipped it back on.

He glanced back.

You were still fast asleep, curled toward the spot he’d just left, your hair a little messy, one hand stretched toward the empty space like you instinctively reached for him even in your sleep.

His heart ached in the softest way.

He crouched low, reaching for his keys on your desk — one of them jingled, just barely, and he flinched, eyes shooting to you.

You shifted, but didn’t wake.

He let out a breath through his nose and reached for his sneakers — one tucked under the edge of your bed, the other dangerously close to where your fingers now rested.

He moved slowly, slipping the shoe away like it might trigger an alarm.

Your hand twitched.

Silas froze.

But you only let out the faintest sleepy sigh, curling up tighter into the blanket.

He smiled — quietly, tiredly — and leaned in one last time. Brushed a piece of hair away from your cheek. Let his fingers ghost along your jaw for a second longer than he should’ve.

“I didn’t mean to stay,” he whispered, barely audible. “But I couldn’t leave you.”

He pressed the softest kiss to your temple, stood up, and before he could slip out your door without another sound— you sat up, the blankets rest on your upper legs, looking at silas through the dark— confused.