Chapter 415: They?
Callan woke to the sound of his alarm. He reached for it blindly and snoozed it.
He started to go back to sleep, but he came awake again when it occurred to his foggy brain that Emily wasn’t in his arms and her body wasn’t pressed against his as usual.
He blinked, and his brows pulled together when he saw the other side of the bed was empty.
"Em?" he called softly, assuming she was in the bathroom.
But there was no answer.
He pushed himself up and sat on the bed as he picked up his phone again.
The time was just five minutes past six in the morning so he guessed she had woken up earlier and was probably busy writing or reading.
His thoughts drifted to the previous night, and he glanced at his phone’s screen again.
There were no missed calls or messages from Jamal or Stefan.
His frown deepened as he wondered why.
He thought about calling Jamal again, but decided to go check on Emily first to make sure she was fine before doing so.
He stood up and walked out of the room shirtless and barefooted, wearing just his pajamas trousers.
He checked her bedroom first but there was no sign of her there, so he walked toward the living room.
As he got closer he sniffled the air and a small smile touched his lips when he perceived the smell of breakfast.
Eggs, coffee, and pancakes.
He followed the smell into the kitchen and saw Emily standing by the cooker making pancakes.
She wore his pajamas shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The shirt hung loose on her and her long hair fell down her back.
Callan leaned against the doorframe for a second just admiring her.
Judging by her laptop which sat on the island, he could tell she’d been busy on it.
Seeing how she was yet to notice his presence he could tell she was very much engrossed in what she was doing.
He walked very quietly behind her and then wrapped his arms around her waist.
Her body tensed a little but she relaxed the moment he spoke.
"Good morning, my love," he murmured.
She smiled and turned her head slightly. "I didn’t hear you come in. Why are you sneaking up on me?" she asked.
"Sneak? You were just too busy to notice me," he said as he buried his face in her neck. "Did you sleep well?"
"I couldn’t sleep much," she said as she flipped a pancake in the pan.
He pulled back slightly. "Why?"
She shrugged. "Don’t know. I was restless. I had silly dreams."
"What kind?"
She laughed softly. "In one, I was fighting a pink dragon. Or maybe I was the pink dragon. I can’t remember now."
He groaned. "Does this have anything to do with the movie we saw last night?"
She giggled. "I don’t know. Maybe."
"And the other dream?"
"Well," she continued, "there was a zombie apocalypse."
Callan laughed this time. "Your dramatic dreams haven’t changed."
She smiled. "I can’t help it. I have a colorful imagination."
She didn’t bother to mention that she’d dreamt of Ryan and Genevieve. "What about you?" She asked, pushing the conversation away from herself.
He smiled. "I did," he said softly. "Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice when you left. I sleep better when you’re there."
"Of course, it’s Princess Em. What did you expect?" She asked, rolling her eyes playfully.
Callan laughed. "Yeah. The pink dragon slayer."
She giggled and hit his arm playfully.
"What can I do?" he asked looking around.
"Nothing. I’m done here," she said, nodding toward the door. "You can go freshen up and get ready for work."
He sighed dramatically. "You’re sending me away?"
She smiled. "Yes. I need to complete the Chapter I’m working on, and I can’t do so if you’re here. Go freshen up and I’ll join you soon. That way we can leave soon."
He nodded slowly. "Actually," he said, "I want to try to reach Jamal and Stefan first."
She turned the heat down. "Yeah. You should."
He studied her. "Did you try calling them?"
She shook her head. "I only sent texts asking them to let me know if they needed me to do anything."
He nodded. "Alright. I’ll let you know what they say."
He left the kitchen and returned to his room.
Back in his room, he picked up his phone and dialed Jamal’s line.
This time, the call connected.
"Hey," Jamal said. "Sorry I didn’t return your call. I’ve been busy."
Callan sat on the edge of the bed. "I figured. I saw the news. What’s going on?" he asked.
Jamal hesitated. He didn’t want to lie to Callan about it. And he didn’t want to go back on his words to Stefan either.
So he said, "Nothing much. I’m just busy helping Tom and Harry oversee what’s happening at the hotel."
"How are you and Stefan holding up?"
"I’m okay," Jamal said, "You should call Stefan to check on him."
Callan nodded slowly. "Sure. But I thought you both traveled together. Isn’t he there with you?"
"No. They’re busy at the hotel..."
"They?" Callan asked, and Jamal shut his eyes at the slip.
"Yeah. Some of uncle Harry’s people," Jamal said.
"Okay. I will call him after now. By the way, I spoke with Dawn. She seemed quite upset."
Jamal paused. "You did? When?"
"Yesterday."
Jamal exhaled softly. "Thanks for checking on her. How are you?" he asked.
"I’m okay," Callan said, wondering why Jamal didn’t sound like something serious had happened. He was being too casual and that was unlike Jamal.
"And Emily?" Jamal asked. "How are things going between you two?"
Callan smiled faintly. "She’s good." Then he shook his head. "I didn’t call to talk about me. I called to know how you’re doing and if there’s anything I can do."
"Stefan is the best person to talk to," Jamal repeated.
Callan frowned again. "Alright. I’ll call Stefan," Callan said, then added, "Take care of yourself."
"You too," Jamal replied before hanging up.
Callan frowned as he stared at his phone.
Jamal sounded too normal. Even if he wasn’t very close to Genevieve, he should feel something. Shouldn’t he?
Callan shook his head, then dialed Stefan’s line.
Stefan picked up at the third ring.
"Hey, man," Callan said. "I heard the news. I’m sorry."
There was a pause, then Stefan sighed, "Thank you."
"How are you holding up?" Callan asked.
Stefan hesitated. "I’m... doing my best."
Callan leaned back slightly.
"My mom is distraught," he said. "She really liked Genevieve."
Stefan shifted. Not feeling comfortable about lying to Callan. He also considered Callan his friend.
"Can I call you back? I’m in the middle of something," he said, not wanting to talk to Callan until he could tell him the truth.
"Yeah. Sure," Callan said and the line went dead.
Callan’s brows pulled together as he lowered the phone slowly. "What’s going on?" he murmured staring at his phone.
Something about the conversation with both Jamal and Stefan didn’t sound right.
It sounded like they were both avoiding the subject or hiding something.
He sighed as he set down the phone. "I’ll wait and see."
He stood up and walked into the bathroom to get ready.
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