"Ugh."
The door slammed behind him with a sharp crack, rattling against its frame as Eli leaned his back against it, chest heaving. Finally—home.
The silence of Elione's apartment wrapped around him, sleek and modern, but right now it felt like nothing more than a cage he could collapse inside.
He wanted nothing but a bath. A long, scalding bath that would steam the frustration right out of his skin—or maybe a shower, hot enough to burn the day off his bones.
He hadn't decided. All he knew was that he needed the water, the quiet, and the distance from everything else.
Especially them.
Ding.
The crystalline chime of the system flickered into the corner of his vision again, mocking, relentless.
Eli squeezed his eyes shut, groaning. "Look, if you're gonna punish me, just do it after my bath." He waved an irritated hand through the holographic glow, swatting it away like an annoying fly.
But it lingered at the edge of his sight, stubborn. Always stubborn.
