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My heart pounds, thrashing in my chest.
Jeremy never calls me.
He hates talking on the phone.
My jaw quivers, and I look down at the heap on the floor. “Waylon,” I murmur, though I’m not sure why.
Obviously, he doesn’t hear me.
The phone stops ringing, and I pray it doesn’t start again.
Maybe I’m still sleeping.
Dreaming.
This isn’t real.
The phone starts ringing again, and a burning sensation fills my throat and ears.
“Waylon,” I say more harshly this time. Louder.
Still nothing.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Praying…to who, I don’t know? Why? No clue. I just…
He never calls me.
He never. Fucking. Calls me.
“It’s not real,” I murmur. “You’re asleep. You have to face whatever this is, and then you’ll wake up. That’s how it goes.”
Inhaling deeply, I hit answer, and bring the phone up to my ear. “Hello.”
I’m met with a bone-chilling silence, the likes of which I’ve never heard before.
My teeth chatter. “JJ?”
Maybe it’s a butt dial… maybe he’s lying on his phone. Sleep-calling.
Logically, I know how unlikely that is, but I can’t help but scramble for some sort of lifeline. Something that justifies this early morning call from the last person I’d ever expect to call me period.
The silence turns into a hitched inhale and I frown. “Jeremy? Are you there? Are you okay?”
One heartbeat. Two…
“Mason…”
Chills skate over my skin.
I’ve heard him say my name like, what, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of times over the years.
But never, have I heard him say my name like that.
Like it’s an…echo. Like years rather than physical distance separates us, and I’m only hearing now, far, far too late.
“They’re dead, kid. The stars. Those twinklin’ lights? That’s from billions and billions of years ago. They’re so bright, because what you’re seeing is them exploding. Dying. We’re so far away, it’s only reachin’ us now.”
“Mason.”
