The digital clock on my microwave blinked 11:58 when I finally picked up my phone. My hands were shaking, but not from the cold creeping through my apartment. Something heavier sat inside me, pressing against my ribs. I needed someone to talk to or at least someone to hear me breathing on the other end of the line.
Mia answered on the fourth ring. Not with worry. Not with urgency. Just a tired sigh that made me feel smaller than I already did.
“Hey. Everything alright?”
Her voice floated through the speaker, distant. Comfortable in her world. Blissfully untouched by mine.
I curled my legs under me on the couch and tried to steady my breathing. “I do not know. I just needed to talk.”
She hummed a distracted sound. “I am putting you on speaker. Hold on.”
More tapping. A muffled message
