Alex woke up on Kevin’s bed with the same hollow feeling he’d fallen asleep with.
No messages. No missed calls. No knock at the door. Kevin was already in the kitchen making coffee when Alex came out.
“You’re still here,” Kevin said. “Good.”
Alex sat at the small table. “He still hasn’t contacted me.”
“I know.” Kevin set a mug in front of him. “Paxton texted again last night. Troy didn’t ask him to. He just wanted to know if you were still breathing. I told him yes.”
Alex wrapped his hands around the mug. “He’s doing this on purpose.”
“What?”
“The silence. He always comes after me. Always. The fact that he hasn’t means he wants me to sit in it.”
Kevin leaned against the counter. “Then sit in it here. Not there.”
Alex didn’t answer. He drank the coffee and stared at the table.
Tro
