Page 60 of Same Thing
She’d fallen in love with a werewolf, and in return, he’d made her feel seen.
He’d touched her soul.
He’d showed her what it was like to feel alive.
He’d made her feel special.
He’d made her feel normal.
He’d banished her insecurities.
And now she was going to have to figure out how to miss him for her whole life.
Chapter Fourteen
Three days had felt like an entire lifetime.
The ringing of Nory’s phone pulled her from the deep quiet that had consumed her mind. Blinking hard, she returned to earth and turned her head just enough to look at the phone.
Maybe it was him.
That thought perked her up and unblurred her vision. She leaned closer to the phone, but the screen told her it was Alese calling. Again.
With a sigh, Nory ignored the call and wrapped her arms around herself. It helped sometimes. If she hugged herself up tight enough, she could imagine how it had been when Liam had held her.
Going back to this loneliness was the worst feeling.
It felt like she’d been a bird who had lived in a cage her whole life, and Liam had opened the cage and taught her to fly. And now she was back in the cage again after knowing freedom. It was unbearable.
Alese called again, and she picked up the call. “Hi,” she said in the most chipper voice she could muster.
“Open the door.”
With a frown, Nory stood and padded over to the door, then unlocked it and pulled it open to find Alese with an armload of grocery bags, her phone tucked under her chin, and bottles of wine in both hands. “I’ve figured out what’s wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong,” Nory said, forcing a smile as Alese bustled into her apartment.
“It’s that boy,” Alese said. “It’s that hot guy from the bar. That’s the last time you were normal.”
“I’m still normal,” she disagreed softly.
“No, this is not normal, Nory.” Alese set the groceries on the counter and rounded on her. “You barely pick up my calls, you won’t talk to me about anything that’s real, and I tried to visit you at your work today, and do you know what your boss said?”
Nory shrugged.
“That you had called out for the next two weeks. Why?”
Exhausted, Nory let the smile sag off her face and exhaled deeply. “I’m sad.”
“Fuck,” Alese whispered. “Is it the guy?”
Nory barely had enough energy to hold her posture, so she allowed her shoulders to slump and sank back onto the couch. She nodded.
“I knew it. I saw how you smiled at him when you talked. I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”
Theglug-glugof liquid dragged Nory’s attention to the kitchen, where Alese poured two glasses of red wine.
“It’s only noon,” Nory pointed out tiredly.