Now she missed him even more.
42
Mallory's Call
Malloryhesitated,herthumbhovering over Chase’s name for far too long before finally pressing call.
She wasn’t sure what she expected.
For him to answer? For him to ignore it? For her to chicken out at the last second and pretend like this wasn’t the most important call she had made in a long, long time?
But when the line rang once, then twice, and she heard his voice on the other end—deep, rough, tired—it hit her like a freight train.
"Mallory?" He sounded—neutral.
Not relieved. Not angry.
Just existing.
And God, that was somehow worse than if he had been furious.
“Hey—Chase,” she said softly, shifting on the couch, glancing toward the hallway where Savannah’s door remained shut—silent, unmoving—a quiet reminder of how much she had disappeared into herself.
She didn’t respond when Mallory knocked. Didn’t respond when she sat beside her, trying to coax anything out of her.
She was just—gone.
Chase exhaled after a beat. “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.”
Mallory let out a weak laugh. “That obvious?”
“Yeah.” His voice wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm, either. Just there.
Like he was waiting. Like he was bracing for whatever the hell she was about to throw at him.
“Go ahead, Mal.” His voice dropped lower, quieter. "Say what you need to say."
She hesitated.
Because now that she had him on the line, she wasn’t sure where to start.
There was too much to say.
Too much to fix.
So she went with the only thing that mattered.
“She’s miserable.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them, before she could soften them, before she could find a way to make it hurt less. “She won’t say it, but I see it. Every day. She doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep—hell, she barely even talks to me anymore. She’s not okay, Chase.”
Silence.
A long, drawn-out pause where Mallory swore she could hear the sound of his breathing on the other end of the line.
And then—
"You want to know something, Mallory?" His voice was lower now, almost a whisper. “I’ve just started picking up the pieces.”
Her stomach twisted.
