Chapter 8Jayden reached the top of the stairs to the sound of her phone. Raff’s ringtone cut through the silence like a claxon. Against her better judgement, Jayden answered his call. “Hey,” she said, sounding sulky.
“Hey babe. Is Ed still with you? Or did you kick him into touch and send him off to drown his sorrows somewhere else?” Raff dulled the impact of his snarky comment with a giggle.
“He just left. He should get home soon.” Jayden heard the sadness in her own voice and allowed Loneliness to curl around her shoulders. It began an irritating tap on the back of her brain with a hooked claw and she couldn’t summon the energy to shrug it off.
Raff dropped the fake jovial attitude. “Hey,” he conceded, “I’m sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have asked you to play happy families
