Chapter 4

The night was thick with anticipation, the air heavy with the promise of rain that hadn’t yet fallen. I sat in my room, the silence around me oppressive, each tick of the clock amplifying my anxiety. The unanswered calls to Jake lay like stones in my stomach, each one an echo of the distance growing between us.

Then, the phone shattered the silence. I jumped, heart pounding, and glanced at the screen, expecting another empty voicemail notification. But it wasn’t Jake. It was his parents’ number. A strange, hollow feeling settled over me as I answered.

“Emma?” Mrs. Morrison’s voice…