Sabrina appeared behind him, silent, watching them both. Kayla felt her stomach twist. She didn’t stay long after that. But as she walked home, her mind spun with a single truth: Someone had been upstairs. Someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.
The next morning, Mark opened the door before Kayla could even knock. He looked like he hadn’t slept — the faint shadows under his eyes, the tightness in his jaw, the way he kept glancing behind him toward the stairs. “Hey, Kayla,” he said quietly. “About yesterday… thank you for telling me. Really.” She nodded. “I didn’t want to overstep, I just—”