47. Intuition
Intuition
SARAFINA
I stood in my art studio, hands on my hips as I stared at the massive canvas in front of me, desperately struggling to paint. I tried to tell myself that the churning feeling in my gut, the fact that I hadn’t heard from Carter in several weeks, was just an overreaction.
But every day that I didn’t hear from him, it became harder and harder to convince myself that I was overreacting.
I’d made a promise to Carter before he’d left that I’d try to keep my anxiety in check.
We’d shared many long, frustrating conversations about scenarios just like this.
Where he’d be unable to contact me for weeks or possibly months on end—only he was supposed to eventually call me, tease me about being so worried and tell me everything was okay. That he was coming home.
I knew the rules—anytime I felt anxious about not hearing from him, I had to text him. So I did. All the freaking time I did, and every day that passed without getting a response, was absolute hell.
Today, even with the pit in my stomach that I couldn’t seem to shake, I had somehow managed to get into that elusive flow state while I painted.
Dip, dab, stroke. The smell of the paint, the feel of the brush dragging across the canvas. Those messages would come through. Any day now.
I was humming along to the music when my studio door creaked open unexpectedly, and I spun around ready to rip Vaughn a new one—but I was startled to see Liam standing in the doorway, with Vaughn just behind him.
I read the expression in both their eyes, the tight posture, the worry, and I could suddenly hear my heartbeat in my ears as everything went quiet—numb. I didn’t even have to hear the words, because I already knew.
It was all bullshit. I’d known deep down in my gut that something was wrong. And I’d fucking ignored it. Ignored him . I’d gotten so used to writing off that gut feeling, and now my worst nightmare was about to be a waking reality.
I dizzily sank into a chair, eyes shuttering as I waited for the words.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it.” Liam murmured, “ Carter’s missing. ”