The message simply sat there for hours and got no response.
Clara caught a glimpse of it once as she brushed her teeth. Again when she pulled her hair into a lazy knot. Once more when she got into bed. Then again… way, way later than she should have been asleep.
Nothing.
She sat in front of the screen, thinking that maybe she'd overdone it. Maybe the message had been too harsh. Too soft. Too real.
Maybe it was a mistake.
She thought about erasing it. But it was sent already. And maybe—maybe it was okay to leave it where it was. Because honestly, she'd meant it. She'd missed the sound of his voice. Missed how he paced her. The way he made the night quiet, not empty.
She fell asleep with the phone clutched, thumb hovering over the back button like she might still retract it.
She woke
