COLEEN

The silence was the loudest part.

Hayden had been gone three days, and already my body had fallen into the rhythm of waiting.

I was checking my phone without realizing it, listening for a buzz that never came, convincing myself I wasn’t anxious while counting the hours since his last message.

The last thing he’d sent was a blurry photo from the airport shuttle with the caption: “Coach looks like he’s about to murder us all and it’s only Day 1.”

I’d laughed.

And then ...