"What does indefinitely mean?" he asked.
"I'll be living with Cam until I can find my own place in town."
There was nothing but silence on the line. I hadn't thought my heart could beat any faster, but it drummed like crazy. Still, I forged on.
"Can I come see you when I get back to town?" I asked. "To talk?"
Ben cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think we should." His voice was low and rough, but not in an unpleasant way.
I was pretty sure I'd just surprised him. A glimmer of hope sparked in my belly.
"Good. Good. I'm...glad." For fuck's sake, could I be any more lame? "I'll text you when I know for sure what day I'll be back."
"Okay," he agreed. "I think it's good we both have a little time to think."
And that tiny light of hope faded to nearly nothing.
"You're probably right," I said. My voice was nearly a whisper because the words hurt as I said them. They hurt my throat, my chest. My heart.
"Bye, Sierra."
"Bye, Ben."
I disconnected the call and dropped my phone on the couch. Then, I cried for the second time in less than an hour.
At least I didn't have a witness this time.
