I glare at the text until the light of my screen fades. My reflection stares back, flat and tired.
I don’t answer.
I don’t block him either. There’s no point… Daniel will source a new number, a new way to bug the shit out of me until I can’t hold back anymore. Roo and I have a friend trailing him, so I know he’s been around, too close for comfort but too far away to safely kill.
Waiting is the game we’re still playing.
I sigh and open the app because, somehow, that unknown feels safer.
The red glow fills the room, the slow pulsing heart steady in the center of the screen as it fades away, leaving my chat open. Dots are already rolling, a message readying before I can say hello.
I don’t ever have to say hello.
Locke:
Couldn’t sleep?
Eris:
Wasn’t trying.
Locke:
Then you came here for me.
Eris:
I came for clarity. That message last night… It wasn’t like the others.
The typing dots appear, disappear, reappear several times before the reply lands on the screen like a clash of thunder.
Locke:
Sometimes clarity is dangerous.
Eris:
You deleted it.
The accusation feels right. I know it was there, can still recall exactly the way my nerves sang behind my rib cage. The possible danger of the situation should make me run, but instead it lulls me into a calm I haven’t felt in weeks.
Locke:
Did I?
My pulse ticks harder.
Eris:
Don’t play with me.
Locke:
I would never. I only wish to protect you.
That word. Protect…
It seeds in my head before I can stop it, growing like weeds. The weight of it settles in my core, turning from comfort to command without changing tone.
