Page 268 of Let Me In

Luca rests his head in my lap.

It feels like something Cal would have made sure of—that I wouldn’t be alone. That I’d be flanked by warmth and loyalty, even in the hush that followed him walking out the door.

And God, it does help.

But it’s still quiet. Too quiet.

I think about the rules.

No going outside.

Even with the Watcher near.

The dogs have tethers. They’ll be fine. I just have to clip them on. Stay behind the door.

Text him three times a day.

I know it was to reassure him. But the moment he said it, it became a tether for me. My hand tightens around the phone without thinking, and my chest loosens by a hair—like the rule is holding me now instead of the other way around.

Something to hold. Something to count.

And now… God. It’s hard not to text him already.

Are you safe?

Are you close?

Are you still mine?

But I don’t.

Because I know how he moves when he needs to disappear.

And I promised.

Still…

I lift my phone. Turn it over in my hands.

Type his name.

Then stop.

My thumb hovers above the screen, the message half-formed, the pull to press send aching in my chest. But I lower the phone slowly, the phantom weight of his rules anchoring me.

The porch light flickers gently outside. The fire soft-crackles as the last of the logs settle, a steady sound beneath the hush—less a beacon than a heartbeat, warm and enduring.

And I breathe in the silence.

Not empty.

Just waiting.

34

CAL

The truckhums low beneath me. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel—knuckles whitening, breath slow—just to feel the pressure, to remind myself I’m still here, still in control.

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