Page 286 of Let Me In

Around two.

I lay down with the dogs, turned off the lamp, curled up with one of Cal’s pillows held tight to my chest. But the second I closed my eyes, it felt like something inside me flinched. Like my body couldn’t afford the vulnerability of rest.

So I stayed up.

Drank tea I didn’t finish.

Paced the hall.

Held Cleo in my lap and stared at the same spot on the wall until the shadows began to lift.

It’s just past five now. Still dark enough that the windows reflect my face back at me—pale and pinched and hollow-eyed.

The phone sits next to the mug on the counter.

I haven’t let it leave my sight since he left.

I check it again. Not because I heard it, but because maybe this time—

The screen lights up.

One new message.

It hits me like a wave.

I blink, just once. My hand hovers above the screen, too scared to touch it—too scared it’ll vanish.

Then I press.

It’s done.

I’m safe.

Coming home.

That’s it.

Three short lines.

And they undo me completely.

I don’t cry. Not right away. I just… breathe.

Deep. Shaky. A sound that pulls from the base of my spine, like my body is only now remembering how to be alive again.

I clutch the phone to my chest. Press it into the hollow between my collarbones, its cool surface slowly warming against my skin, steadying the frantic thrum just beneath. Let it warm me from the inside out.

He’s okay.

He’s safe.

He’s coming home.

The dogs stir at my feet. Luca lifts his head. Cleo yawns, her tiny paws pressing against my thigh.

I reach for the phone again. My fingers tremble as I type.

I’m here.

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