He circles my legs, nudges my hand, then looks over my shoulder like he expects someone to follow me in.
“Hey,” I mutter, dropping my bag and crouching to scratch his chest. “What’s wrong with you?”
His tail wags, but he also whines softly and starts pacing the way he does when he needs to pee.
I straighten slowly, scanning the house.
“Tal?” I call out. “You home?”
Bear whines again and paws at my shin.
“Okay,” I murmur under my breath. “Relax. Let’s find your mistress together, alright?”
I walk farther inside, keys still in my hand, the house strangely quiet.
Where is she?
I glance around the living room.
She’s not in her usual spot where she likes to sit and paint.
And then I notice something else.
The easel isn’t there.
Weird.
I look around again and spot more things missing—her brushes, her yoga mat.
The space looks too clean. Too bare.
My throat tightens.
Bear trots into the room behind me, nails clicking on the floor. He sits in the middle of the room and looks up at me like he’s waiting for me to figure something out.
My pulse kicks harder.
“Tal?” I call again, louder this time. “Talia!”
Nothing.
I move faster now, the purpose in my chest sharpening into something else.
I head to the kitchen, but there’s no sign of her.
Instead, something else catches my eye on the counter.
A piece of paper.
Folded in half, placed neatly beside the coffee machine.
I pick it up.
It’s in her handwriting.
The words blur for a second because my eyes don’t want to focus.
Then they do.
