Lara didn’t call Temi right away.
She waited until the apartment felt too quiet, until the candles she’d lit last night had burned down to sad little stubs, wax pooling like tears on the coffee table. Kai had left before sunrise—slipped out with a kiss to her forehead and a promise to be back by evening. He didn’t say where he was going. She didn’t ask. Some things you learn not to poke at when the man you love is half shadow.
But the silence pressed in hard. Every creak of the building sounded like footsteps. Every flicker of light through the blinds looked like eyes. She kept one hand on her belly the whole time, like touching it could keep everything safe inside.
By noon she couldn’t take it anymore.
She sent the text:
Can you come over? Need to talk. Bring food. I’m not okay.
Tem
