Fallon
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the house, and I froze.
He was back.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. My fingers tightened around the phone in my hand, but I didn’t look at the screen. My eyes stayed locked on the hallway outside my bedroom, and I listened.
Footsteps. Slow, steady, unhurried. The sound of his shoes against the marble floors sent an ache through my chest — one I refused to name. I heard his voice a moment later, low and calm as he spoke to one of the staff. He didn’t sound tired. He didn’t sound…anything.
Then — silence.
I waited. I told myself I wasn’t, but I did. I waited for the sound of his steps moving toward me. For the knock on my door. For his voice saying my name.
But it never came.
He didn’t come looking for me.
The minutes stre
