I holdthe phone in a tight grip. I really want her to text me back before we take off.
I open email to sync the device before I go dark. I know it’s unlikely Avery will have sent me anything, but back in high school she sent me a few emails, usually when she had something to say that was longer than she wanted to text.
The sync’s done by the time we start to pull away from the gate. I switch the phone to airplane mode as directed and glance at my Inbox. Nothing from her. Just a few from Granthorpe that’ll have links for grades.
Sitting back, I try to rest. Sleep and I haven’t been on friendly terms lately.
I miss everything about having Avery in my bed. Sex the most, of course. But also how hard I crash afterward. Sleep was better when she was sleeping next to me.
* * *
Apparently lackof sleep catches up with me because I crash for a few hours.
When I wake, it’s four am Boston time. I open the GU emails to check my grades. There are no surprises. I’ve passed everything with decent enough scores.
The last email I open isn’t course-related. Looks like spam. It’s got rows of purple lines and only one line of text.
You shouldn’t touch what isn’t yours, Moran. Or you might disappear. Like her, my very cherry, a very cher.
What the hell? What kind of bullshit is this?
I zoom in and realize the dots making up the purple lines are tiny rose emojis.
It takes a second for the email’s message to hit me. And then my heart fucking stops.
It’s from Casanova.
And he’s threatening Avery.
32
AVERY
Darkness in the forest is different. It’s full black, like charcoal briquettes.
The exposed parts of the cabin’s wood floor are cold, so I’m happy to be tucked in bed under a stack of handmade quilts. When the three of us are here, Ethan builds a big fire and I’m missing that. I made a small one, but it’s burned itself out. Tomorrow night, I’ll use more wood.
Cell service is spotty, and there’s no cable in the cabin, so I came to bed with a paperback from the bookshelf. Old school, as Ethan calls it.
I hope Ethan and my mom had a good flight and are enjoying their first night in Aspen, but I’m really glad I stayed behind.
The quiet calm of being surrounded by nature is soothing.
* * *
SHANE
I takemy phone into the first class bathroom, turn off airplane mode, and wait for it to connect and update.
Come on, baby. Please have sent me a text.
The phone buzzes, which gets my hopes up, but no. It’s all texts from other people.
I call Avery, and it goes straight to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s me. Call me back. I got an email from Casanova, and I want to know you’re all right.”
There’s a chime overhead, and the fasten-seatbelt light goes on. I ignore it and the turbulence that follows.
