Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 24

The moment Seth opened his eyes and pulled off the VR headset, he rolled over and looked for his phone. It had fallen onto the floor, so he'd leaned over to grab it. The screen lit up, too bright in the dark of his room.

He squinted. There were no new notifications.

His stomach sank. Just to be sure, he opened his messages and found the thread of texts. It didn't take him long. Fenn had gotten him a new phone and phone number, and he was the only contact Seth had.

There were no new messages.

Fenn hadn't replied for well over a day now. Or was it two?

Seth sat up in bed, clutching his phone in one hand. This wasn't right. Fenn always responded. Sometimes it took him an hour, but never had he taken more than a day. Something was wrong.

Worry clawed at his stomach. Maybe something had happened to Fenn. What if he didn't answer because he couldn't? What if he had—

No. Seth immediately rejected that line of thought because it was unimaginable. Nor could he even bear to even think about it. Fenn was okay. He had to be.

Maybe he just got really busy with work.

That was a possibility. Time meant little to a man who worked at all hours and took catnaps whenever he could. He'd gotten lost in projects before. But not to this extent. He'd never gone silent for days.

Seth bit at his thumb nail, eyes riveted to the phone's little screen. It was almost 2 am. The middle of the night. Most people would be sleeping right now, but that didn't matter.

He hit the call button. If Fenn was sleeping, then this would wake him up. It made Seth feel a little guilty, but he had to know. Why wasn't the man responding? Was something wrong? Was Fenn okay?

The phone rang once. Then his uncle's cheerful voice filled the living room.

"Hi! You've reached the voicemail of the one and only Fenn! I'm busy cleaning up some toe jam, so leave a message and I'll get back to you after I wash my hands. Bye-bye!"

A long beep followed, but Seth didn't say a word. He ended the call, then pulled his knees to his chest. Why didn't Fenn answer?

Why did the phone go straight to voicemail?

He could be on another call. Either that or his phone was turned off. Seth hoped it was the first, so he sat there in uneasy silence, watching the clock. Three minutes later, he dialed his uncle's number again.

"Hi! You've reached the voice—"

Seth hung up. A tremor ran through him. Still, he clung to the persistent hope that his uncle was just busy. He waited another three minutes. Then five more just to be safe. He called again.

"Hi! You've reached—"

Why? Why wasn't Fenn answering? What was going on?

Seth let his phone drop to the bed. His hands felt clammy and wiped them on his pajama shorts. Then he flopped over and curled up on his bed, trying not to panic. Fenn was just busy. It was okay.

It's been two days! A knot clogged up his throat, and his chest felt constricted like a band of iron was tightening around his lungs. He shivered.

He decided to wait a half hour. If Fenn was on the other line, surely it'd be over by then. Yet doubt ate at him, his mind already fabricating a thousand and one scenarios. Maybe Fenn had been in a car accident on the way home from work. Maybe he spun off the road and into the river, and his car sank deep into the water where no one saw it. Maybe he was still there, drowning alone in the cold water, or worse, maybe he was already de—