Vanessa gave me a final wave.

She pulled the thick wooden connecting door shut between us.

The brass latch clicked firmly into place.

I stood in the quiet room and smiled at the empty panels.

I turned off the bedside lamp and pulled the heavy quilt up to my chin.

The mattress felt stiff under my back, completely different from the soft bed in the apartment Ethan and I shared.

I should have been asleep hours ago.