The room was silent,
except for faint noise of traffic outside the window.
Vio sat on the edge of the bed, his phone in his hand, staring at the number on the screen. Her number. It was right there, ready to be called, but he could not bring himself to press it. Lav had been gone for days. No texts, no calls, no explanations.
She had vanished, leaving a gap in his life he did not know how to fill. It was starting to affect everything. Work was a mess—he couldn't focus on anything. His appetite had disappeared, and sleep was impossible without pills.
When he was not trying to drown his thoughts in work, he was driving by her store, hoping to see her. Each time, it was the same. Closed. Quiet. Empty. The last time he had heard her name was from his mother. Lav had shown up at the house.
It was out of the blue,
right after some man had arrived.
A stranger.
