Page 141 of Resurgent

I can’t help but feel disappointed as I open my message thread with Hunter. After he’d sent the question, he went radio silent.

Me: Good. Getting the third degree about you, Orion.

Me: How’s your night? What are you up to?

Me: We’re just about to call it a night.

Nothing.

Me: Everyone just left. You awake?

Still nothing. Maybe he was busy prepping for next week's classes. Maybe he went flying with Kali. Maybe he went out with his friends.

Maybe—

I type one more.

Me: Goodnight, Orion.

Chapter forty-one

Annalise

By the time I get to Hunter’s house, I’m already annoyed.

Annoyed with myself because I’ve checked my phone seventeen times in the last hour and convinced myself every single time that I’m being ridiculous.

He’s hasn't text me all day.

At first, I blamed the storm.

The rain started sometime before breakfast, coming down in sheets against the windows, thunder rolling over Scion hard enough to rattle the glass. Phones have been unreliable during storms before, and my first few messages sitting unanswered didn’t seem strange.

Then Mattey sent a message to the group pushing dinner back an hour so he could finish working on something with Zest.

Then at the last message I sent Hunter.

Me: Are we still on for tonight?

Sent four hours ago.

No response.

Storm keeping you busy?

Nothing, fine, whatever. I shoved my phone into my pocket and told myself I wasn’t going to care…Which is probably why I’m standing on his front porch, soaked from jogging over here, and arguing with myself if I should knock or not.

No, I shouldn’t…but then I do.

Nothing.

I knock again, silence…and then the door opens, and Hunter looks at me, or more accurately, looks through me.

His phone is already in his hand. “Hey,” he says distractedly.

That one word manages to make my irritation spike.

“Hi?” He steps aside to let me in, eyes dropping immediately back to his screen. “Nice to see you, too.”