The name "Fred" flashed on the screen of her phone, and Annabel's heart skipped a beat.
She snatched the device from the bed, a desperate, childish hope blooming in her chest.
His voice, that steady, familiar sound, cut through the suffocating silence of the room.
"Hello? Annabel?"
"Fred!" The word burst from her, a mixture of relief, excitement, and pent-up misery. "Oh, Fred, thank God."
A short pause followed, a hesitation that felt like an eternity.
"Annabel, is everything okay?" His voice was guarded, a stark contrast to her frantic relief.
"I’ve been calling you," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I've been calling for an hour. Why weren’t you answering?"
Another moment of silence stretched between them, thick with an unspoken weight. Annabel could hear a faint shuffl
