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)11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdao5eW71Y
mismatched throw pillows (Zadie)11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2A5bOGgRWA
a candle burning that smells like "forest witch" (Ana)11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8C4KpUyJK
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."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK5DAjfITi
Ana lecturing like she's on a cooking show.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewqAGpiRA1
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ269c4SB7PZ
Then at each other.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCHvJD82Lj
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 —11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykZsDx1lRI
a tiny, aching wish she tries to swallow down.
The goose argument fizzles out.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Fn8SGvWbF
The fridge‑label solution has been accepted like a peace treaty.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtoOkR8q42
Zadie is humming to herself, reorganizing the pillows in a way that makes no sense.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvY6RHScZo6
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3MCYAHq7D
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GxNqGN1eO
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvgacySibe
Ana grabs snacks.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpSMpDzf34
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:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12Pt4ac5k5
that ache in her chest, the one that says I wish I belonged somewhere like this.
She doesn't say it.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4v9xLY7ek6
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqKw6Wlnfr
Cards shuffle.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHX8zz7jG7
Zadie talks too much.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtX6i7UZ8Cf
Ana shushes her.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeFPsrbQfv
Pluto sits directly on the draw pile.
And Ellie...11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSy8FZyWWl
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy8R4jjdYx
The apartment is dim, quiet, and too still — the opposite of the warm chaos she just left.
Ellie sets her keys down.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RcY8mIoEh
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOizPjObYw6
She avoids looking at it.
She puts the leftovers in the fridge.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESa8Zm3UCH
The fridge hums loudly, like it's judging her.
She sits on the couch.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXSULrlGi0
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOhC28hQnt
She reads it again even though she knows every word.
"I don't know what to do."
She folds it back up.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgWDwVS0yL
Puts it under a stack of mail.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrl3gESRID
As if hiding it makes it less real.
She curls up on the couch, hugging her knees.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzApemp19HP
The apartment feels too quiet.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBYhN2kn8e
Too empty.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyK4P01CzY
Too much like she's failing.
Her phone buzzes.
A text from Zadie:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9IFFWZZvp
"UNO rematch tomorrow???"
Another from Ruth:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSWKiSOVFW
"Eat something real tonight."
And then Ana:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGknqFAjWV
"Let me know when you get home."
Ellie stares at that one the longest.
She types:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EfuYu4Re5
"Home. All good."
She deletes "all good."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODPyy0DhNL
Re‑types it.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGHdpbLJ9g
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bJUC7YbKh
She wipes her face even though she isn't crying.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCUDPNCVkM
She opens the door.
Ana stands there with a small bag of groceries — nothing dramatic, just essentials.
"You left your scarf."
Ellie looks down.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Xzg4TeKKv
She's not wearing a scarf.
Ana holds it up anyway.
Ellie knows what this is.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhIiXTtEIJ
Ana knows she knows.
"You didn't have to come all the way here."
"I know."
Ana steps inside.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnt5O9Riyb
She doesn't ask questions.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPUZyr8hcm
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztOTUehciL
Ana hands her a mug.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHajN6MMCqC
They sit in silence — warm, safe, enough.
Ellie and Ana sit on the couch, tea cooling in their hands.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dztfuSCu4
The apartment is dim and too quiet — the kind of quiet that makes the walls feel closer.
Ellie is trying to look normal.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWw6QDb44E
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiABME1wXt
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0txRjH2NR
Her eyes go wide — terrified, caught.
and then Add to home screen.