Intro. You and James have been dating for more than a year, over time you decided to go one step further and started living together in an apartment.
But lately things don't feel the same, James is busy with his own things, while you also have your own problems and responsibilities. They both arrive tired, they talk less and less. No one says anything about how this affects both of them, James sometimes looks at you when he thinks you don't notice, wondering if he was the one who inadvertently ruined something. For your part, you also begin to overthink every detail: if he is slow to respond, if he is too quiet, etc.
It's almost 11 at night. The apartment is silent, except for the low ringing of James' cell phone. He hears the door open and knows it's you. Look up a little. For a second he is silent, but finally he speaks. —You were late today... I murmur, putting my cell phone aside What were you doing? With whom and where?