“Okay,” she said, her voice soft as she offered him a consoling smile. “That’s perfectly fine. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll talk about it, okay? We’re here to help. Whatever you need.”
He blew out a long, shaky breath. “Some time alone, I think.”
Julia shared a glance with Kyle. “Are you sure?”
Alex bobbed his head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure. I, umm, I’m not going to do anything stupid, I just…want to be alone and figure this out.”
Julia patted his back again before she offered a warm smile. “Okay, Alex. We’re right downstairs if you need anything.”
She collected the tray and motioned with her head for Kyle to follow her. He reluctantly left Alex behind, offering him a sad smile as he backed from the room.
When the door clicked softly closed, Alex huffed out a sigh before he doubled over in tears again.
His weeping died down to sniffles only, and he grabbed his phone, intent on distracting himself. Reports of Ava’s death flooded his notifications, making it all too real and inescapable for him.
He let his head fall back against the pillow behind him as he stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and pretended she was next to him.
“Why so sad, Ace?” she asked.
“Because you’re–” He stopped, frozen but the sound of his name in her voice rattling around in his head.
His eyebrows pinched as he sat up. He’d heard that voice before he’d fallen asleep. Someone had called. No, he thoughtwith a shake of his head, not someone…Ava. Ava had called him last night before he fell asleep.
He grabbed his phone, his hands shaking as he searched his call log. He found a restricted number that he’d answered in the middle of the night. “Ava?”
He pressed the button to call it but received an out-of-service message. With a growl, he tightened his fingers around the phone.
“Hey, buddy,” Kyle said as he poked his head through the door again. “How you holding up?”
Alex lifted his eyes to Kyle, wanting to tell him about the call. “Better. I…”
He hesitated, imagining the reaction when he said, “I heard from Ava last night. She’s not dead.”
Kyle would give him a consoling glance, assume he was insane, and give him another sedative.
“Yeah?” Kyle prompted as Alex hesitated.
“I think the food helped,” Alex answered with a weak smile. “Tell Julia thanks.”
“Will do,” Kyle said. “Hey, if you’re feeling up to it, why don’t you come downstairs. We’ll all deal with this together.”
“Yeah, in a few minutes, maybe,” Alex said with a nod.
Kyle returned the gesture before he ducked from the room, leaving Alex alone again.
He leapt out of his bed, retrieving his laptop and trying to search for any information on the call he’d received. He found nothing.
He pounded his fists against the mattress with a growl before he slammed the lid shut. As he fumed over his inability to find information, a message appeared on his screen.
He’d probably imagined the whole thing anyway. Ava couldn’t have called him, she was gone.
He snatched the phone, his heart in his throat as he hoped it was Ava despite himself.
Instead, it came from a restricted number again.We need to talk. I can help you. Meet me at the old resort at sunset. Come alone. Raven
Alex tossed the phone onto the bed, his anger and despair intertwining, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. The message from Raven felt like salt in an open wound. He couldn’t handle this now. Was Raven serious?
Ava was dead. The words felt foreign, like they didn’t belong in his reality. He stared at the screen, the message taunting him. He didn’t care about The Board or anything else right now. How could Raven expect him to?
