~ Author ~

It is not her father’s voice that she hears on the phone.

This recognition falls first—not as shock, but as discomfort. An incongruity that causes Adeline’s fingers to tense around the phone as if earthing herself could right this wrong.

“Addy?” The voice comes again, hesitantly. Familiar, in a way she hasn’t allowed herself to recognize in a long time.

Her breath catches. "Corey?"

There is a silence, thick and heavy. “Yeah. It’s me.”

The room appears to ...