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IT WAS A LITTLE PASTmidnight by the time Anneke finished taking her shower and made it to bed. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, a curious thing considering how she had done nothing all day but eat and devour her favorites on Netflix.
A glance at the laptop she had left open on the bedside table showed several unread emails from all members of her family. She had told them early on she was switching her phone off, and she had let them assume it was because of the press.
But of course it was not.
Lying on her back, Anneke stared blankly at the ceiling, tryingnotto succumb to the urge—-
But only a few seconds had passed before she was fumbling for her phone on the bedside table.
Somehow, she had found the strength to switch it off whenhewouldn’t stop calling her. But surely now – surely it was safe?
As soon as her phone powered back to life, the first thing she saw was the preview for new and unread messages—-
There were one from every member of her family, but the bulk of it was from an unregistered number.
And of course that washim.
God, he was so cunning.
Phone calls Anneke had enough self-discipline to ignore, but text messages?
Reading one will have you falling into an endless rabbit hole, Anneke warned herself.There’s no turning back once you start.
But as wise words to one’s self always went, these were promptly ignored, and Anneke clicked on the unread messages.
Marcus:I’m sorry about today.
Marcus:Please let me call you.
Marcus:At least let me know you’re okay.
Marcus:I’ll call you every half hour until you talk to me.
Anneke’s eyes widened.Had he, really?Her stupid heart started squeezing painfully as she checked her voice mailbox—-
And her throat began to tighten. Her heart began to ache. And ah, the tears—-
She moved to another message and another and another—-
Everything –every damn one – was from him, and the tears that she had been struggling to hold back the entire time finally fell.
Call me. I’m sorry. Let me know you’re okay.
The tears streaked down her cheeks, leaving the salty taste of despair on her lips.
Why now, Marcus?
Why not when I needed you?
Why now when it’s too late?
Curling up in a ball, she stared at the phone in her hands, feeling like she was holding everything that mattered – and yet none of it had ever been hers.
Anneke closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she was surprised to find out that she had actually fallen asleep, and Anneke abruptly sat up. She immediately thought of checking the time, and that was when she remembered—-