At least I still had the lulling sound to crawl into bed and fall asleep too.

I slipped into a pair of silk pajamas, and my cats followed me into the bed. They nestled up by my pillow, and I hopped in next to them, settling down.

The book Stone annotated for me sat on my bedside table. I opened it up and started flipping through it. There were other little notes I added, this being my second time reading through the story. He had been right—I absolutely loved it.

I started reading through all the little notes he left, and my chest felt heavy as I did. There wasn’t a day that would go by when I wouldn’t miss his presence. Every little smart comment he made and thoughtful thing he did for me—I’d remember each and every one.

The urge to hop on the first flight to Virginia hit me for the thousandth time, but I knew I risked reopening all the wounds of him leaving. I was lying to myself if I thought I could just let him go completely.

I checked my phone to see if he had texted me at all, but there was nothing. I wasn’t surprised, knowing he was meeting the rest of his team and traveling early the next morning.

He would drive the rest of the team to the jet, return his rental car, and catch his own flight back. I’d offered to return it so he could travel with the rest of his team, but he insisted on it. Truthfully, I think he needed the time alone.

My eyes started to feel heavy the more I read through the book. I started to memorize every word Stone wrote. He may have memorized the book, but every last note he wrote me would be imprinted on my mind forever.

The one at the front caught my attention the most.

For my aftermath. 

I wanted the word tattooed on my skin, to remind myself that, like Stone said, everything we’d gone through only made us stronger after.

The book slowly started to slip from my hands as my body gave in to exhaustion. I could finally rest, knowing I was safe, even if I still found it hard to accept the truth. This nightmare was over.

I tried to push that from my mind, telling myself eventually, it would go away. Instead, I put the book down and turned toward my cats, curling up beside them. It was the last thing I saw before the real nightmare began.

* * *

I couldn’t breathe. Something covered my mouth, and I startled awake. I tried to thrash against it, but whoever stood over me held me down. Dizziness built in my head, and I felt my eyes start to flutter back to sleep.