Page 250 of Before We Were

And that's exactly why I have to let her go.

CHAPTER72

BLINK AND GONE

NORA

My hands trembleas I stare at my phone. Seven missed calls echo like heartbeats in the void.

Each message sits there untouched, a timeline of mounting desperation:

Nora

Where are you?

Please just let me know you're safe.

Nate, you're scaring me.

I’m not letting you do this alone.

Please just answer.

I need to know you're okay.

The phone weighs like grief in my hands as I pace the balcony, fighting tears that threaten to break the dam of my composure. Each step feels like wading through memories of every time I've watched him walk away, my heart a desperate metronome counting seconds of silence. Camilla's approach registers in soft heel-clicks against stone, her presence cutting through the static of my panic.

"Hey," she says, voice gentle as morning light. "What's going on?"

My head shake sends the world tilting. "Nate's gone. He followed Scott out, and I can't—" The words fracture in my throat. "He's not in a good place."

"What happened?" Camilla moves closer, her usual sharp edges softened by concern.

"Scott and Lydia had a fight. Scott lunged at Lydia and—God, you should have seen Nate's face, Camilla." Another call hits voicemail, another crack in my resolve. "He won't answer, he won't??—"

"What about Jay?" Camilla's voice cuts through my spiral, practical as always. "He might know where Nate went."

"I don't have his number."

A hint of a smile plays at her lips as she pulls out her phone. "Lucky for you, I do."

I grab her phone, questions about that particular connection filed away for a less urgent moment. Each ring makes my pulse spike.

"Didn't think you'd call so soon," Jay answers, playful tone a jarring contrast to my racing heart.

"Jay, it's Nora." My words tumble out like scattered puzzle pieces. "I need your help. It's Nate."

His voice shifts instantly to steel. "What happened?"

I explain in fragments—the gala, Scott's ambush, the aftermath that hangs in the air like smoke. Jay's curse cuts through the static of my fear.

"I think I know where he went," he says, and relief floods my system. "If he followed Scott, he's probably at Furlo's. Meet me there."

"Thank you," I breathe, inadequate for the weight of my gratitude.

Camilla squeezes my arm. "Want company?"

I shake my head, already moving. "No. The fewer people, the better." I leave unspoken the ways this night could spiral into chaos.

---