Page 78 of Ruin Me Gently

The third text satthere, glaring back at me.

Sent.

Delivered.

Unread.

My thumb tapped against the edge of my phone as I checked the time again.

3:42am.

My jaw locked. I hadn’t slept all night. I’d upset her, or I’d made her angry. Either way, she wasn’t okay, and it was ripping my organs out one by one.

When the notification had chimed at 3:07am, I’d reached for my phone.

She hadn’t been lingering on her porch, or picking up a late-night delivery. She was walking away. No hesitation or looking back, just disappearing into the dark, swallowed up by empty streets.

And I didn’t like it. Something was wrong.

I’d shot off a text to see if she was okay, but she was still ignoring me.

I pushed upright, sheets pooling at my waist. The air in my bedroom felt colder, pressing against my skin, sharpening at the edges.

There werereasons.Rational explanations. Maybe she’d forgotten something at work. Maybe she couldn’t sleep and decided to take a walk. Maybe she—

No.

Silas

What are you doing?

Nothing. No dots. Noresponse.

Silas

Lilith?

My stomach twisted, grip tightening around the phone, fingers pressing too hard against the edges like I could will it to light up.

The pressure in my chest pulled tight. Too tight. My ribs were caving in, like there wasn’t enough air in the room, in the entire fucking city.

I stood up quickly. Sheets tangled around my legs, nearly tripping me as I shoved them away and started pacing.

Breathe.

Calm down.

But my brain was on its own track, spinning too fast, snapping from one conclusion to the next.

Where was she?

Why was she still not answering?

A sharp, uneven breath punched out of me, and I flexed my hands, curling them into fists at my side. My whole body was restless, wired, like it needed to dosomething.But what?

What the hell was I supposed to do?

I scraped my fingers through my hair, gripping the back of my neck, trying to ground myself, trying to focus on something other than the blood roaring through my ears.

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