I hang up.
Call again.
Voicemail.
I swallow and leave one anyway.
“Hey… it’s me. Just… checking in. We made it to Plymouth. Um. Call me when you can.”
I hate how small my voice sounds.
I hang up.
Set the phone on my chest.
The boat creaks softly around me. Water laps. Somewhere in the distance, someone laughs.
I’m surrounded by people.
Friends.
Music.
Life.
And somehow?—
I still feel lonely.
Not empty.
Just… untethered.
Like everyone else is paired off and orbiting someone and I’m just floating.
I stare up at the stars until they blur.
Thinking about Sean.
Thinking about Ethan.
Thinking about what love is supposed to feel like.
Thinking about how I don’t think I’ve ever actually had it.
The hammock sways.
My eyes get heavy.
And somewhere between one breath and the next?—
I fall asleep feeling warm and safe and completely, inexplicably lost.
CHAPTER 9
ETHAN
By Sunday morningmy head feels like someone stuffed it with sand.
