Stan lowered his phone and opened his messages. Zack's chat thread sat at the top, timestamped 1:48 AM.
[bro its 2am and i am sitting in a kitchen chair facing the front door holding a frying pan. zoey thinks im insane. update me before i become a cautionary tale]
Stan typed a reply.
[It's over. He won't be coming. You can put the pan down.]
The response came seconds later.
[thank you man. seriously]
[zoey says if you dont come to dinner this week she will personally fight you. i am just the messenger.]
Stan let out a quiet breath, the tension in his shoulders finally easing.
[I'll be there.]
He slipped the phone away just as the sun cleared the horizon, spreading its golden light across the sea and turning the water into hammered silver.
He picked up Camilla's coffee and drained the remaining contents in one long swallow.
That was when the ringing began.
