Page 218 of Bound By Crimson
Loneliness crept up her spine like frost.
“God… if I’d just answered then—”
She shook her head hard.
Felt the sting behind her eyes.
“Now I’ll never know.”
A soft laugh rose from the other side of the wall.
Not loud.
Not cruel.
Gentle.
Her whole body locked.
Shock ripped through her like lightning.
Her heart stuttered painfully in her chest.
For one terrifying, impossible second, she thought she might faint.
“I was trying not to scare you off again,” the voice said.
She surged to her feet too fast.
The world tilted.
The sky spun.
She gripped the edge of the bench, nails digging into cold stone.
It was real.
It was happening.
Someone was there.
Someone was talking back.
She opened her mouth—
Nothing came out.
Her body wasn’t cooperating.
She wanted to scream, to cry, to collapse.
Instead, somehow, she forced out a whisper:
“You’re there.”
Another laugh.
Warm. Almost shy.
