Evan didn't sleep.
He lay flat on his back, eyes open, counting the cracks in the ceiling while the city rearranged itself outside his window—buses coughing awake, a neighbor's alarm ringing too long, darkness thinning into a gray that felt unfinished.
Noah didn't come home.
By 8:00 a.m., Evan's chest felt tight in a way rest couldn't touch.
He reached for his phone before he could argue with himself.
Evan:
Where are you?
Sent.
No typing bubble. He waited. Made coffee he forgot to drink. Watched steam rise and vanish like it had somewhere better to be. Checked the time. Checked the phone again. Nothing.
Maybe he fell asleep at work, Evan told himself.
Maybe he's stuck in interrogation. Maybe his phone died. Maybe—
By 12:00 p.m., the maybes felt thin.
By 2:00 p.m., they felt dangerous.
Evan went to the station. Not panicked. Not running.
Just walking fast enough that his thoughts couldn't catch him and grab him by the throat.
The building looked the same—glass, concrete, fluorescent honesty—but something in it felt wrong. Like a room where a glass had shattered and everyone had agreed not to talk about the sound.
He spotted Kai near the entrance, coat slung over one shoulder, hair just slightly out of place.
Like he'd been there longer than necessary.
"Oh," Kai said easily, smiling. "Hey."
Relief rushed through Evan too fast to trust.
"Have you seen Noah?" Evan asked. "He didn't answer my text."
Kai tilted his head, thoughtful. "Yeah. He does that."
Evan frowned. "Does what?"
"Just, you know" Kai said lightly. "When something hooks Noah, like these murderous cases, he forgets the world exists."
That didn't feel right. But Evan nodded anyway.
"Oh," he said. "Okay."
Kai studied him a beat longer than necessary. "You eaten?" he asked.
Evan shook his head. "I'm not hungry."
"You look like you're lying." Kai smiled and turned before Evan could protest. "Come on. Five minutes. My treat."
They ate somewhere small and warm—too-bright lights, chipped plates, food that tasted like salt and oil and something grounding.
Kai talked.
About an intern who mislabeled evidence.
About a case that went nowhere.
About a song Evan had once mentioned liking.
Evan smiled when expected. Answered when prompted. Checked his phone beneath the table.
3:30 p.m. Still nothing.
When they stepped back outside, the air had gone sharp.
"You'll hear from him," Kai said easily. "You always do."
Evan nodded.
"I know."
He didn't.
By 5:00 p.m., Evan was back in the apartment. Alone.
The quiet felt heavier now—thicker, like it had weight. He drifted from room to room without purpose. Thought about the time Noah tried to cook instant noodles and poured boiling water straight into the seasoning packet. Thought about how Noah frowned when he concentrated, like the world had personally offended him. Thought about how strange it was that he didn't have a single photo of them together.
We'll take one next time, he told himself.
We'll laugh about it.
He showered. Changed. Sat on the couch with his phone in his hand until the screen dimmed. That was when it started.
Not suddenly. Not violently.
A pressure behind his eyes. A tightening in his chest. That familiar, creeping wrongness.
"No," Evan whispered. "Not now."
The room blurred. Then sharpened. Images slid into place...not fragments, not symbols.
Details. Too many. A concrete floor. Cold seeping through fabric. A metallic smell that turned his stomach. Hands bound behind a chair. A shallow cut on a knuckle. A heartbeat—slow, controlled, stubborn. Evan sucked in a breath.
"No," he said louder. "Please."
The vision didn't pause. It expanded. A scar near an eyebrow. Dark hair damp with sweat. A breath dragged through clenched teeth.
Evan's knees hit the floor. His phone slipped from his hand and clattered uselessly beside him.
"Oh god," he whispered.
This wasn't a stranger. This wasn't a future that might happen. He knew this body. This voice. This pain. Because it was already carved into him.
The vision tilted...And the face came into focus. No distortion. No haze. No doubt. Evan screamed. The sound tore out of him raw and broken, his hands clawing at his chest like he could reach inside and stop it. The world went black....
It was Noah.