Chapter 17 - The Call at 2:13 A.M.Nathaniel’s phone rang at 2:13 in the morning.
He answered before the second vibration.
“Clare?”
Her breathing was uneven.
“Nate.”
He sat upright.
“What happened?”
“I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He heard her inhale shakily.
“Nightmare.”
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
The hospital.
Of course.
“Do you want me to come?”
He was staying at a hotel twelve minutes away.
Clare hesitated.
“Yes.”
Nathaniel arrived eleven minutes later.
She opened the door wearing pajamas, arms wrapped around herself.
He didn't touch her.
“Tea?”
She nodded.
They sat on the kitchen floor.
Exactly like they used to years ago.
Clare rested her head against the cabinet.
“I dreamed I called you.”
Nathaniel’s chest tightened.
“And?”
“You didn't answer.”
He swallowed.
“I’m here.”
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“That’s why I called.”
Those words broke something open inside him.
Nathaniel reached toward her slowly.
Clare took his hand.
They remained there until sunrise.
No declarations.
No kiss.
Only presence.
When Clare finally fell asleep against his shoulder, Nathaniel did not move for three hours.
His arm went numb.
His back hurt.
He had never been more grateful for discomfort.
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Because twelve years earlier, Clare had loved him by staying.
Now Nathaniel was learning how to love her the same way.
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