Closer Than Before

Adeline thought she had learned to live with seeing Matteo every day. After all, they went to the same college, shared the same spaces.

But that was before everything fell apart. Before he drifted away to spend time with another girl. Before they stopped talking altogether and crossed paths more often than she liked to admit. Once, he was her closest friend-the boy she secretly adored.

She thought the awkward tension between them had settled into a manageable silence, but then came the fight. A heated argument about things left unsaid. And the next day? She was called to her part-time job to train a new hire. Him.

Now, Adeline is stuck working alongside the one person she can barely talk to, forced to navigate shifts filled with uncomfortable silences and fleeting moments of the friendship they used to share. Slowly, though, the walls start to come down. The conversations return. The laughter follows. And suddenly, working together doesn't feel so bad anymore.

Adeline tells herself she's happy just to have him in her life again, but the time they spend outside of work says otherwise.

As the line between friendship and something deeper begins to blur, Adeline starts to believe that maybe they can mend what was broken. But just as her life begins to feel whole again, a shocking loss shakes her world. When her best friend's sudden death is dismissed as an accident, Adeline is left with an unshakable feeling that something isn't right. Unable to ignore her instincts, she finds herself turning to Matteo for help.

Together, they begin to piece together the fragments of a puzzle no one else seems to see, uncovering truths that are as unexpected as they are unsettling. As Adeline balances her growing connection with Matteo and her search for answers, she begins to wonder if some secrets are better left buried-or if finding the truth will finally set her free.

(© @ShadowedMuse, 2025)