I didn't let go.
And neither did he.
Then suddenly—
click.
The lights came back.
I blinked.
Everything became clear again.
The room.
The distance—
or lack of it.
My eyes dropped to our hands.
Still held together.
I quickly pulled mine back.
Almost too quickly.
"…Sorry," I murmured.
Not sure why I even said it.
"It's fine," he replied.
His voice was calm—
but quieter than before.
The room felt the same again.
But something between us—
wasn't.
It was getting late.
The house felt quieter than before.
"…You should sleep," he said.
"I'll stay here."
He glanced at the sofa in the hall.
I followed his gaze—
then frowned slightly.
The hall didn't even have a fan.
"…You can't sleep here," I said.
He looked at me, confused.
"It's fine."
"No, it's not," I replied quietly.
"There's no fan here."
"You'll be uncomfortable."
He didn't say anything.
Just watched me for a second.
I looked away slightly.
"…You can sleep in my room."
"I'll take the sofa."
"…No," he said immediately.
I looked back at him.
"Why not?"
"…No," he said immediately.
I frowned slightly.
"Why not?"
"Because it's your room," he replied simply.
"I'm not taking it."
"And I'm not letting you sleep in the hall," I said.
"There's not even a fan."
He sighed softly.
"I'll be fine."
"You said that before too," I replied quickly.
"And you were literally sweating when you got here."
He paused.
Like he didn't expect that answer.
"…You remember that?" he asked.
I looked away immediately.
"…That's not the point."
For a second—
neither of us spoke.
"…Then we'll both adjust," he said finally.
I looked at him again.
"What does that mean?"
"…You take the bed," he said quietly.
"I'll stay on the floor."
"…In your room."
I looked at him—
but in the dim light,
I couldn't see his expression clearly.
Somehow…
that made everything feel more uncertain.
And closer at the same time.
"…That's not comfortable either," I said softly.
"It's fine," he answered.
"At least I'll know you're safe."
I didn't respond immediately.
Those words—
stayed with me.
"…Okay," I said after a moment.
We walked to my room together.
The space suddenly felt smaller than before.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
He placed a pillow on the floor.
Neither of us said anything.
But the silence…
didn't feel empty anymore.
I lay down, staring at the ceiling.
Trying to sleep.
But it wasn't working.
My mind wouldn't stay quiet.
Everything from today kept replaying.
After a while,
I slowly turned to the side.
He was already looking at me.
For a moment—
neither of us said anything.
The room was quiet.
Only the faint sound of the night outside.
"…You're not sleeping either?" I whispered.
"…No."
His voice was just as quiet.
"I tried," he added.
I let out a small breath.
"…Me too."
"…Today felt strange," I said softly.
He didn't answer right away.
Just kept looking at me.
"…Yeah," he said after a moment.
"It did."
I hesitated.
"Not bad… just…"
I couldn't find the right word.
Everything felt different—
but I didn't know how to say it.
"…Different," he said quietly.
I looked at him, surprised.
"…Yeah."
For a moment—
it felt like he understood
without me having to explain.
"…You were scared earlier," he said softly.
I nodded slightly.
"…I was."
"But…"
I paused.
"…not when you were there."
He didn't speak.
But his gaze didn't move away.
"…Good."
I just looked at him.
Our eyes met—
and stayed there.
No words came.
But it didn't feel empty.
It felt like…
if either of us spoke,
something would change.
So we didn't.
We just stayed like that—
quietly.
My heart was beating slowly now.
But louder than before.
After a moment,
I turned away first.
"…We should sleep," I whispered.
"…Yeah."
But even after closing my eyes—
I knew
neither of us fell asleep right away.
I closed my eyes.
Trying to sleep.
But my thoughts wouldn't stop.
Every moment from today
kept coming back.
His voice.
His hand holding mine.
I shifted slightly on the bed.
Trying to get comfortable.
Then I heard it—
a small movement from the floor.
"…Are you really okay down there?" I asked softly.
"…Yeah," he answered.
"Go to sleep.
I frowned slightly.
"You don't sound okay."
There was a short silence.
"…It's a little uncomfortable," he admitted.
I sat up slightly.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"…Because you're comfortable," he said simply.
I didn't know what to say to that.
My chest felt tight again.
I stayed quiet for a moment.
Then slowly sat up again.
"…You won't be able to sleep like that," I said softly.
"It's fine—"
"…Just come up here."
He went silent.
"…What?"
"We can just… keep a pillow in between," I added.
"So it's not weird."
My voice got quieter at the end.
Even I wasn't sure why I said it.
He looked at me—
like he was trying to understand if I really meant it.
"…Alright," he said finally.
He moved onto the bed carefully.
Keeping a little distance.
I placed a pillow between us.
A small line—
but it felt important.
We lay there quietly.
Close—
but not too close.
The space between us wasn't far.
Just enough to remind us—
of everything we hadn't said yet.
And slowly…
the night grew quiet around us.