Violet
My phone slipped from my fingers the moment the line went dead.
“Elijah?” I called into the emptiness, staring at the screen.
Did he just hang up on me?
Furious, I dialed again. Once. Twice. The third time, he finally picked up.
“What do you mean you can’t get hold of her? Where is she?” I asked, breathless.
“I wouldn’t give you a call dead in the night if I knew the answer, smartypants.”
Another nickname.
I would have chuckled if I hadn’t noticed the tension in his voice.
As if he was trying to tell himself that she was okay, that everything was fine.
“Did you check her room again? Maybe she just needed air—”
“She’s not here, Violet.” His voice was clipped, tight, the kind of tone that carried the weight of someone fighting to stay calm.
“Did you guys fight again?”
Th
