The smell of coffee woke her.
Rose blinked against the morning light, stretching as she sat up. For a moment, she forgot about yesterday. Then it all came rushing back.
The interview. The unease. The questions.
But in the kitchen, Celeste was humming as she poured coffee into two mugs, completely unbothered.
Rose rubbed her eyes. "You're making coffee in my house?"
Celeste smirked. "I don't see you complaining."
She wasn't.
Rose took the mug Celeste handed her and sank into a chair. The warmth seeped into her hands, grounding her.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
It was easy. Comfortable. Like it always had been.
Celeste took a sip of her coffee and sighed dramatically. "Alright. I have declared today A No Overthinking Day."
Rose raised an eyebrow. "That's not a thing."
"It is now." Celeste grinned. "And to celebrate, we're going out."
Rose groaned. "I don't do 'going out.'"
"Exactly why we're doing it."
---
They ended up at a small bookstore.
Celeste wandered through the aisles, picking up random books and making up ridiculous summaries for them. Rose rolled her eyes but couldn't stop herself from smiling.
Later, they stopped by a café. Celeste ordered something obnoxiously sugary while Rose stuck to plain black coffee.
"Live a little, Ro," Celeste teased, stirring her whipped cream.
"I'm already here, aren't I?"
Celeste clapped. "Look at you! Making an effort. I'm so proud."
Rose shook her head, amused despite herself.
For a while, she forgot about the interview. About the strange unease curling in the back of her mind.
For a while, it felt normal.
---
It wasn't until late that night, when Celeste had fallen asleep on the couch, that Rose's mind drifted back to them.
The company. The interview. The words.
Something about it wasn't right.
She grabbed her laptop and sat by the window, the glow of the screen casting shadows on her face as she typed the company's name into the search bar.
At first, it was just the usual—a few corporate pages, an official website, a list of projects.
But then, she found something.
An article.
Her heart pounded as she clicked on it.
The page loaded.
Her eyes scanned the words.
Just as she felt like she was grabbing the tail of something hidden—something just out of reach—
Her phone rang.
The screen lit up.
Unknown Number.
Her breath caught.
She hesitated.
Then, she reached for it.
And answered.