The screen lit up again in the darkness, and for a second the room felt unfamiliar. He buried his face in the pillow, as if it could drown out his thoughts, but his fingers still reached for his phone. The message was short, without any emojis. "You're working the night shift tomorrow."

Those are the ones that hurt the most. He ran his hand through his hair, exhaled, and closed the chat. Sometimes " " isn't a swear word, but the only honest word left at three in the morning.