Yours As Much As Mine

She hasn’t been able to reach Tim all day. That wouldn’t normally make Ashley concerned. In fact, she doesn’t even think to worry until she’s climbing up the stairs to her apartment. It’s then that she spots Lucy on the landing, still in uniform, her long brown hair tied back into a tight bun. She stands alone, her face a stoic mask; it is not the smiling warmth she’d come to associate with Tim’s co-worker and close friend. “Ashley,” Lucy begins to say, but her lips tremble over her name. No more comes out, but no more needs to. She knows.