Minutes ticked by.
Marlowe barked downstairs, probably at one of his many squirrel nemeses. The house creaked, as old buildings often did. River’s heart pounded, a thunderous boom compared to the vast emptiness inside her.
Eventually, she reached out and picked up her phone. Cradling it in her palm, she stared at it. How was it possible for something so light to cause her so much stress?
She turned the phone over, trailing her finger down the pink case, and drew in a deep, grounding breath. Muttering to herself—not her mantra, because the gods only knew that hadn’t worked—she tightened her fingers around the phone and turned it on.
The screen came to life, and an array of colors slid across the display. River held her breath as she pressed her thumb against the screen, unlocking it.
A heartbeat passed where nothing happened, and then it…
Buzzed.
Repeatedly.
River dropped the device on the bed, watching in horrified fascination as hundreds of notifications flooded the screen. They came in so fast, she couldn’t keep track of them. It felt like it took an eternity for the device to stop buzzing, although it was probably only a few minutes.
River stared at the phone for so long that the screen dimmed, then went dark. Once again, the black screen mocked her. Only this time, she knew what was hiding behind its inky curtain.
She wasn’t ready to tackle it yet. River went downstairs to let Marlowe out—he was indeed barking at the squirrels—and make a cup of tea. When she returned upstairs, steaming cup in hand, she knew she couldn’t put this off any longer. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she picked up the phone once more.
Unsurprisingly, her voicemail was full. Her inbox contained hundreds of unread emails. She ignored them all and navigated to her messages.
Nearly everyone she knew had sent her a text. There were several from her best friend, Ember, a few from Ryker, and over twenty from Nikhail.
River released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She settled on the bed, leaning against the pillows, and scrolled through the air fae’s messages.
Some were short. A few words, nothing more. Merely Nikhail, checking in.
Others were much longer.
He realized her phone was probably off, he said in one message, but he wanted to make sure she knew he hadn’t forgotten about her. He asked how she was doing, if she was holding up. If she could see the stars.
All of those messages, even the last one, River could’ve handled. She would’ve been able to turn off her phone, walkaway, and prepare for the emotional turmoil tomorrow would bring.
But there was one series of messages, dated the day before last, that River couldn’t look away from. More of a letter than anything else, it captured her attention.
Nikhail
River
As you can tell from the time stamp, it’s late, and I’m sorry for messaging you at this hour. I couldn’t sleep, though.
In truth, I haven’t yet tried. I’ve been burning the midnight oil, and I just got in from the office. Everything has been so chaotic, but I didn’t want to let this day end without reaching out. You’ve been on my mind all day.
I know you haven’t seen my messages yet, and that’s okay. So much has happened, and I’m sure you need time to process. That’s not a problem—take all the time you need.
Even though it’s busy, I need you to know that no matter what I’m doing, no matter where I am, you can always text or call me. I will drop everything to be there for you.
Just… let me be there for you. Please.
Yours, Nik.
He’d texted again the next day. A short message that didn’t refer to the letter. As if, now that he’d said his piece, that was it. He wouldn’t push her to answer, one way or another.
River kept going back to the letter. To his sign-off.
Yours.