And maybe, just maybe...
That meant Savannah Monroe was finally coming up for air, too.
47
Lingering Echoes
SavannahMonroewasalreadyhalfway through her glass of wine when Mallory walked through the door, shrugging off her jacket with an expression that screamed, “Buckle up—because, I have news!”
Savannah sat up straighter, her heart hammering before she could stop herself.
"What happened?" The words tumbled out before she could swallow them down. Too eager. Too desperate.
Mallory smirked, kicking off her shoes. “I talked to Chase.”
Savannah froze.
The room went silent. Her wine glass hovering mid-air. Breath caught in her throat. “You what?” She stuttered out.
Mallory tossed her jacket over the back of a chair. “Called him.”
Savannah blinked. “Out of nowhere?”
Mallory shrugged, like it was nothing. Like she hadn’t just dropped a live fucking grenade in the middle of Savannah’s world. “More like after weeks of debating. But yeah. I finally did it.”
Savannah exhaled sharply, setting her wine down. “And?”
Mallory arched a brow. “That’s it? No dramatic reaction? No ‘Why the hell would you do that, Mallory?’”
Savannah let out a forced laugh, but it came out brittle. “I mean—you do dumb shit all the time. Why should this be different?” She took a quick sip of wine, hoping Mallory didn’t notice how her fingers trembled.
Mallory smirked, sinking into the couch like this was any other night. “Okay then, I won’t say anything about it.” She picked up the remote, flipping through Netflix like she hadn’t just set Savannah’s entire nervous system on fire. “What are we watching?” She smirked.
Savannah’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?! Are you fucking serious right now?” She threw her arms in the air, nearly knocking over her wine. “You just casuallyannounce that you talked to my ex—the ex—and now you want to talk about Netflix? No. No, no, no, Mallory, we are not doing this. You are going to tell me every single detail, right now!"
Mallory laughed, shaking her head. “That’s what I thought.”
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “What do you want to know, Savannah?”
Savannah inhaled sharply, pretending she didn’t already have an entire list prepared. “Everything. What did he say when he answered? Did he sound surprised? Annoyed? Happy?”
“Well, first off, he answered on the second ring.”
Savannah’s heart skipped. Second ring. He didn’t let it go to voicemail.
Mallory gave her a knowing look. “Sounded like himself, which honestly threw me for a second.”
Savannah narrowed her eyes. “Like himself? What does that even mean? Was he relieved? Did he sound like he missed—" She paused, "like he wanted to talk?”
Mallory’s smirk deepened. “Not sad. Not overly eager. Just—like Chase.”
Savannah swallowed hard but said nothing.
For the past year, she had been convincing herself that Chase was fine. That he had moved on. That he had let her go. That her absence hadn’t wrecked him the way it had wrecked her. But hearing Mallory say that? That he was just now starting to feel like himself again?
It hurt.
Because she knew what that meant.
