Aaron stepped out of his dive device and was immediately hit with the all-too-cramped feeling of being back in his tiny apartment. He hated how claustrophobic the place felt after being inside the other world, and he silently lamented having to come back so soon. He stretched his legs and popped his neck.

“Anneliese,” Aaron called out to his voice-controlled Intelligent Personal Assistant. “Can you patch me through to Bella?”

“That sounds like a splendid idea,” the beautiful female voice responded. “Are you going to request and try the long-distance relationship?”

“Umm . . . just patch me through,” Aaron repeated. He didn’t want to deal with a personal assistant harassing him with the same questions his mother repeatedly asked him, no matter how many times he said “no.” What’s the point of dating someone when she clearly doesn’t want to be dated?

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” the assistant responded.

“Huh?” Aaron was surprised. Bella was always either in her apartment, where she could answer the phone from anywhere, or carrying her phone around as if she were some large marsupial guarding her baby. Always. No matter when he had texted or called her in the past, someone had answered. Even if it was 4:00 a.m. This was the first time in twenty years that she, or one of her overprotective parents, hadn’t answered.

Aaron immediately remembered the sour note the two had parted on and that he hadn’t called her in weeks. “Did she reject the call?”

“No,” Anneliese responded. “I’m sorry, master Aaron, but I cannot patch you through to her because she is not available. I’ve communicated with her virtual assistant, and he has sent his apologies, but she only left a voice message in the event that her parents called, not you. Thus, it is with deepest regret that he has no message to pass along to you explaining her situation.”

Aaron’s mouth hung open. He was speechless. Is she mad at me? No, it couldn’t just be me. If it were just me, then she wouldn’t have also left a voice message for her parents. Does this mean she actually left her phone behind and went off somewhere on her own? But . . . where could she have gone? Who does she even know . . .? Then if . . .

He suddenly spun on his heels and stared at the dive capsule curiously. He was about to hop right back in it, but then he remembered that he’d still end up having to wait on his friends. Instead of reentering the game, he decided to make himself a sandwich for lunch, as was originally planned. He made his way into the kitchen, flipped open his laptop, and began researching the man whom he had seen, Lucas, while he put things together.