That night, the city felt unusually loud.
Or maybe Alaine was simply becoming more aware of how much noise people surrounded themselves with.
Music drifted from nearby apartments.
Cars passed outside endlessly.
Televisions murmured behind walls.
Voices rose and fell somewhere in the distance.
Everyone trying to fill the silence before it had the chance to speak.
***
Alaine gazed out her bedroom window for a long time after getting home from dinner with Elsie.
Still thinking about their conversation.
Still hearing Elsie’s words replaying quietly in her mind.
“Maybe you’re becoming honest with yourself for the first time.”
Honest…
The word still unsettled her.
Because honesty was exposing things she had spent years avoiding.
Not dramatic things.
Not terrible secrets.
Just truths she never slowed down long enough to confront.
***
Like how exhausted she really was.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The kind of exhaustion sleep never seemed to fix.
***
Or how deeply uncomfortable she felt being alone with herself.
That realization disturbed her more than she wanted to admit.
Because what did it say about her that silence frightened her so much?
***
Her phone buzzed suddenly from the bed behind her.
Unknown number.
Alaine closed her eyes briefly before turning around to read it.
You’re beginning to notice the difference between distraction and peace.
Her chest tightened quietly.
The difference between distraction and peace?
Until recently, she wasn’t even sure she knew what peace actually...