While Kyle's family was hunting for shoes in a London hotel suite, the sun had barely risen over Los Angeles.
Calista Wave was already awake.
She sat at her vanity in a silk robe, phone propped against the mirror, scrolling through the same feed she had refreshed six times since five in the morning. Kyle's last story was nearly a week old now. A misty green backdrop. That neat new haircut. The caption: "Off to England for a bit."
For a bit.
She had stopped counting how many days "a bit" had turned into.
She didn't need to ask who had gone with him. Jane, obviously. Ella. Probably Cassandra and her baby too. Maybe even that little street kid who had stared at her across his kitchen like she was a stray cat.
Calista set the phone face down a little harder than necessary.
