Morning light filtered through Leo's bedroom window, soft and golden, painting stripes across the worn wooden floor.
He woke slowly, blinking against the brightness, and for a moment, he forgot where he was.
Then it came back to him home. His own bed.
The familiar creaks of the house settling.
The distant sound of his mother moving around in the kitchen.
He smiled.
Pushing the blanket aside, he sat up and stretched, rolling his shoulders.
His body still carried the exhaustion from the past month early call times, long hours hauling equipment, late nights by the ocean but there was something lighter in his chest now.
Something that hadn't been there before.
He reached for his phone on the nightstand.
No new messages.
He tried not to feel disappointed. Alex was probably busy. Or sleeping. Or—
The phone buzzed in his hand.
Alex:
Good morning.
Leo's smile widened.
Leo:
Good morning. You're up early.
Alex:
Couldn't sleep.
Leo:
Why not?
Alex:
Thinking.
Leo:
