The message didn’t disappear.
It waited.
Cold.
Patient.
You need to see this in person.
Emma had read it three times.
Four.
Five.
It still didn’t make sense.
Or maybe it made too much.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Call.
Don’t call.
Ask.
Ignore.
Her chest tightened.
She locked the phone instead.
Coward.
Or careful.
She didn’t know anymore.
*****
“Coffee?”
Rowan’s voice cut through the silence behind her.
Emma turned.
He stood near the window now, jacket back on, cuffs buttoned, every trace of sleep gone.
Controlled again.
Untouchable.
As if last night hadn’t happened.
As if he hadn’t slept on her couch.
As if he hadn’t looked at her like she was something worth protecting.
She nodded.
“Yeah.”
Her voice came out steadier than she felt.
He watched her fo
