Ellie follows Ana and Zadie up the stairs, clutching her coffee like it's a life raft. She's exhausted, overwhelmed, and trying very hard to look normal.
Zadie unlocks the door with a flourish.
"Welcome to Casa del Chaos!"
"Please don't call it that."
They step inside.
The apartment is exactly what you'd expect:
plants everywhere (Ana)104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK412TXaZs
mismatched throw pillows (Zadie)104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphIqzeUQdM
a candle burning that smells like "forest witch" (Ana)104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfaR77SFMh
a half‑finished craft project on the table (Zadie)
Ellie drops onto the couch like her bones have given up.
Pluto immediately jumps up beside her — he knows this place like home.
"Okay! Story time. Why do you look like a Victorian orphan who's seen too much?"
"I'm just tired."
Ana gives her a look — the kind that says I know that's a lie but I'll let you have it.
Zadie plops down next to Ellie, way too close, legs criss‑crossed like a kid at story hour.
"Do you want tea? Snacks? A blanket? Emotional support? A sword?"
Ana looks annoyed and confused. "Why would she need a sword?"
"You never know."
Ellie laughs — a tiny, tired sound — and leans back into the couch.
Ruth isn't here, but her presence is felt; there's a Tupperware container on the counter labeled "For the girls — don't let Zadie eat all of it."
Ana heads to the kitchen.
"I'm making tea."
"You don't have to—"
"I'm making tea."
Zadie leans over, whispering loudly:
"That's her love language."
Ana shouts from the kitchen:
"I can hear you."
Zadie grins.
Ellie is sipping her tea, finally starting to relax, when Ana opens the fridge to grab something.
She freezes.
"...Zadie."
Zadie perks up from the couch.
"Yes, my love?"
"Why is there... a single slice of pizza... in a bowl... floating in water."
Ellie chokes on her tea.
Zadie shrugs like this is normal.
"I was defrosting it."
"It wasn't frozen."
"It felt frozen emotionally."
Ana closes her eyes like she's praying for strength.
"You cannot keep doing this. The fridge is not a science experiment."
"It's not an experiment if it works!"
"It does not work."
They start bickering — not mean, just classic sitcom roommate chaos.
Zadie defending her "methods."104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl0C3kmlfY
Ana lecturing like she's on a cooking show.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrLRNmzMC5
Pluto watching like it's his favorite soap opera.
Ellie sits there, blinking, overwhelmed but also... weirdly at home.
Finally, she speaks up — quiet, tentative.
"...you could just put labels on the shelves?"
Ana and Zadie both stop.
They look at her.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgQMqvTTNS
Then at each other.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITWj1IpFoh
Then back at her.
"...that's actually a good idea."
"Yeah! Like 'Zadie Shelf' and 'Ana Shelf' and 'Do Not Put Pizza In Water Shelf'!"
Ana sighs, but she's smiling.
"Fine. We'll try it."
Ellie shrugs, suddenly shy.
"It was just a thought."
Zadie beams at her like she just solved world peace.
"Ellie, you're a genius. You should live here."
Ana shoots Zadie a look — not annoyed, just startled by how true that sounds.
Ellie laughs it off, but there's a flicker in her eyes —104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEpjLOEw4X
a tiny, aching wish she tries to swallow down.
The goose argument fizzles out.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0J0Sg4Ldd6
The fridge‑label solution has been accepted like a peace treaty.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJyQ69vNRK
Zadie is humming to herself, reorganizing the pillows in a way that makes no sense.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQnXg8ZIqj
Ana is wiping down the counter even though it's already clean.
Ellie sinks deeper into the couch, Pluto curled in her lap like a warm loaf.
For a moment, everything is still.
"You want lunch? We have leftovers."
"We have mystery leftovers."
"We have perfectly normal leftovers. Zadie has mystery leftovers."
Zadie shrugs proudly.
"Chaos is a seasoning."
Ellie smiles, but it's tired — the kind of tired that sits behind the eyes.
Ana notices.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bGBOVZOvl
Of course she does.
She sits on the arm of the couch, close but not crowding.
"You okay?"
Ellie nods too quickly.
"Yeah. Just... long day."
Ana doesn't push.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oqRajcq6e
She just hums in that way she does when she knows someone is lying but loves them too much to call it out.
Zadie plops onto the rug, stretching like a cat.
"Let's do something fun! Movie? Board game? Summon a demon?"
"No demons."
"Fine. Uno."
Ellie laughs — a small, real sound — and that's enough for Zadie to beam like she caused world peace.
Zadie starts pulling out the Uno deck.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡri8cIrEgWg
Ana grabs snacks.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFIP0VVsvH
Pluto hops off Ellie's lap to investigate the coffee table.
Ellie watches them move around the apartment — the easy rhythm, the familiar chaos, the way they fill the space without thinking.
She feels it again:104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcLEjdpeQG
that ache in her chest, the one that says I wish I belonged somewhere like this.
She doesn't say it.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjtKaRNDJi
She doesn't have to.
Ana sits beside her, handing her a handful of pretzels.
"You're sitting out?"
"No. I'll play."
Zadie gasps dramatically.
"Ellie joining a game voluntarily? Mark your calendars!"
Ellie rolls her eyes, but she's smiling.
They settle in.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkwHpxgvGQ
Cards shuffle.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqQzUgNSdj
Zadie talks too much.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gREysppYR
Ana shushes her.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5miEOiMOX3
Pluto sits directly on the draw pile.
And Ellie...104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcGew44Z1J
Ellie feels something she hasn't felt all day.
Safe.
***
Ellie leaves Ana and Zadie's apartment with Pluto tucked under one arm and a leftover container Ana forced on her. The hallway feels colder than it did on the way in.
She walks home slowly, dragging her feet like she's trying to delay the inevitable.
The door creaks open.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjFUfbemnq
The apartment is dim, quiet, and too still — the opposite of the warm chaos she just left.
Ellie sets her keys down.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0ek1MAIIL
Pluto trots inside like he owns the place.
She stands in the doorway for a moment, staring at the space that suddenly feels smaller than it did this morning.
The eviction notice is still on the counter.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6clvSoVDc
She avoids looking at it.
She puts the leftovers in the fridge.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofWujHlgOH
The fridge hums loudly, like it's judging her.
She sits on the couch.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGapVsmnYS
Pluto jumps into her lap immediately.
Ellie exhales — long, shaky.
"I'm fine. I'm totally fine."
Pluto blinks at her like he knows she's lying.
Ellie pulls the eviction notice toward her, smoothing the creases.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogQ3i90m0B
She reads it again even though she knows every word.
"I don't know what to do."
She folds it back up.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzwpBnnj0w
Puts it under a stack of mail.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnKUs9lBYa
As if hiding it makes it less real.
She curls up on the couch, hugging her knees.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85ec8JNVD0
The apartment feels too quiet.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoQDPJ79xB
Too empty.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVVLXsHuvq
Too much like she's failing.
Her phone buzzes.
A text from Zadie:104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtBEd1SvPG
"UNO rematch tomorrow???"
Another from Ruth:104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFQ2uIEIuP
"Eat something real tonight."
And then Ana:104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0Q26huu3s
"Let me know when you get home."
Ellie stares at that one the longest.
She types:104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkUcBJFajs
"Home. All good."
She deletes "all good."104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jtZlQ5Uoh
Re‑types it.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnlAD9Zkvl
Sends it.
She puts the phone face‑down. Sighs.
***
A soft knock at the door.
Ellie freezes.
Another knock — gentle, familiar.
"Ellie? Can I come in?"
It's Ana.
Ellie's breath catches.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIStNYhhvAM
She wipes her face even though she isn't crying.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtmxNbkqtK
She opens the door.
Ana stands there with a small bag of groceries — nothing dramatic, just essentials.
"You left your scarf."
Ellie looks down.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsMfu65Fdb
She's not wearing a scarf.
Ana holds it up anyway.
Ellie knows what this is.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHt79ZNNxg
Ana knows she knows.
"You didn't have to come all the way here."
"I know."
Ana steps inside.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bMKl7eyht
She doesn't ask questions.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFq7t6tJofq
She doesn't push.
She just sets the groceries on the counter and starts putting things away like it's the most normal thing in the world.
Ellie stands there, overwhelmed.
"Ana..."
Ana turns, soft and steady.
"You don't have to tell me anything. I just didn't want you to be alone tonight."
Ellie's throat tightens.
Pluto weaves between their legs like he approves.
Ellie nods — small, grateful, undone.
Ana gives her a tiny smile.
"Come sit. I brought tea."
Ellie sits beside her on the couch.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKSpamPCCE
Ana hands her a mug.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YA7nULLIx
They sit in silence — warm, safe, enough.
Ellie and Ana sit on the couch, tea cooling in their hands.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U8KJjH07o
The apartment is dim and too quiet — the kind of quiet that makes the walls feel closer.
Ellie is trying to look normal.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32FG7ei1uj
Ana is trying not to stare at how not normal Ellie looks.
Then—
A sharp knock at the door.
Ellie goes rigid.
Ana looks over, confused.
Another knock.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzN4i8lGxS
Harder.
"Are you expecting someone?"
Ellie shakes her head, panic rising in her throat.
The knock comes again.
"Miss Ellis? We need to discuss the notice."
Ellie's breath stutters.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlf0t8hKWJn
Her eyes go wide — terrified, caught.
and then Add to home screen.