Valerie's POV
The house felt too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet, more like the kind that made every sound feel louder than it should be. The hum of the refrigerator. The distant traffic outside. Even my own breathing felt intrusive.
I sat on the couch with my phone pressed to my ear, knees pulled up, thumb idly tracing the seam of the cushion.
So," Juno said on the other end, her tone light but sharp in that way that meant she was already reading between the lines. "What's up, Val?"
I stared at the blank TV screen in front of me, the remote loose in my hand.
"What do you mean?" I replied. "I just wanted to call you."
I paused. "Oh…how's Max?"
There was a brief shift in Juno's breathing, then relief.
"Max is doing much better," she said. "The doctor said she can go home tomorrow morning."
My shoulders finally relaxed.
"Oh." I nodded to myself. "Good. Then I'll come over to Max's place tomorrow."
There was a short silence.
