Page 109 of Phoenix

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I end the call and open up my text messages, hovering my thumb over Case’s name.

I stare at it for what could be thirty seconds or thirty minutes, debating whether or not I should say anything to him.

I’ve been so strong thus far. Not reaching out. Letting him move on. Letting myself move on, but I need to say something—just in case.

I open our text thread and begin to type a new one.

Type.

Erase.

Type.

Erase.

Type.

Send.

Me: Case...be safe out there, okay? I miss you. - Phoenix.

Case

I can hear the jingle of Arya’s collar as we run through the streets toward the screaming voices. The rain is pelting down around us so hard that it feels like small pebbles bouncing off my skin.

“Come on, girl.” I grip her leash in my hand as we round a corner, and my eyes land on a young boy, no more than eleven or twelve, standing near a storm drain, waving me down, screaming for help.

His brown hair is drenched and hanging in his eyes. His clothes are sticking to his body. He drops to his knees and sticks his hand down into the storm drain.

“Help! Help him! Please!” He is screaming so loudly his voice is cracking.

I run up to his side and take him by the shoulders. “What are you doing out here? Are you okay? What’s the matter?”

“My brother! Help my brother. Please.” He is fighting me off, trying to get back toward the drain.

“Where is your brother? Look at me. I need you to focus so we can help him, okay?”

Arya is pacing back and forth, anxious in the conditions.

“He is in there!” He points to the drain. “We were playing in the rain and he dropped his phone. He went in after it. He’s stuck.”

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

“What’s his name?” I ask, lying down on my stomach, trying to look into the drain.

“Cory.”

“Cory!” I yell down into the dark emptiness. There’s water rushing through the drainage system and it’s rising quickly. “Cory, can you hear me?”

I pull out my flashlight and point it down to see inside. I pan it to the right and I get a flash of an orange hoodie.

“Cory?” I yell again, and the person inside of the hoodie moves.

“Help…me.”

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