As I drifted off, I realized I was thinking in terms of a future for him and I.

And that didn’t make me sad.

Kayla

“Hello?”

It was 3:14 AM, and I knew it wasn’t Todd calling.

“Kayla!”

The sound of my father’s voice pierced my foggy brain and had me instantly on alert.

“Daddy? You all right? Did something happen?”

“I…You have to listen to me Kayla, you need to—”

I heard a muffled sound.

A man’s voice.

And then a shot.

I wasn’t sure why I knew it was a shot, but I knew it with every fiber of my being.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

I screamed and screamed.

There was no answer.

Twenty-One

TWENTY-ONE

Elias

I rode the elevator up to the penthouse as the sun was rising.

And never, not once, had I been less excited to see Kayla.

Talk about a shitty night.

One that I knew was going to lead to an even shittier morning.

Part of me wanted to wait, let her sleep in, enjoy those last few hours before the world came crashing in.

But she wouldn’t like that, and I knew waiting wouldn’t change anything.

I keyed in the code and walked into the apartment, trying to be quiet.

Realizing there was no reason when I saw Kayla sitting there.

She was fully dressed, though there wasn’t a single light on in the apartment.

She looked eerie in the shadows, almost like an apparition.

“Tough night?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Yeah,” I responded.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you,” I said.

“Can’t or won’t?” she said.

“In this case, there’s no difference,” I said.

“My father is dead,” she said.

“I know,” I responded.

Her face had been blank, but after I spoke, a look of utter revulsion crossed her features.

“So, then you know that I was on the damn phone when he died?” she asked.

“What?” I said.

I rushed over to her and gripped her arms.

“Tell me everything,” I said.

“My father’s dead, and I heard it happen. What else is there to know?” she said.

She ripped out of my hold, and though I could have pressed the issue, I didn’t.

“Who called you? What did you hear?”

“My father called me. He was trying to warn me,” she said.

“Warn you about what?” I asked.

She stared at me for a moment, her expression angry. “I guess I’ll never know now because he’s dead,” she said.

She looked like she wanted to slap me, claw my eyes out.

And I wanted her to, wanted anything other than pull away.

But that was exactly what she did.

As I stood there, it seemed like I was physically watching her separate from me.

“Kayla…”