The first thing I do is reach for my phone.
I don't stop to think about it or question the impulse, I just unlock the screen and scroll straight to Bael's contact like it's the most natural thing in the world.
My thumb hovers for half a second, just long enough for the thought to flicker…*why him first?*...before I press call.
It rings, once, twice, three times, and then his voicemail picks up, smooth and distant, his voice reduced to something impersonal and recorded.
I don't leave a message. I hang up instead and stare at the screen for a moment, telling myself this is normal, that he's probably in a meeting, that he doesn't pick up calls during work unless it's urgent.
This feels urgent.
Not in the way he would define it, but still.
I open our message thread, type *Are you busy?*, then delete it immediately because that's not what I want to say.
