Chapter 1: Last Call
“Are you still awake?”
I glanced at the clock beside my bed.
11:47 p.m.
“Obviously,” I answered. “You’re the one who called me.”
A quiet laugh came from the other end of the line.
I smiled.
That laugh.
I could recognize it anywhere.
“Then why did you answer so fast?”
“Because I was expecting your call.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me.
Averic had always been like that.
Annoying.
Confident.
And somehow impossible to stay mad at.
My brother.
My twin.
The person who had somehow remained closest to me despite living in a completely different world.
Our parents had separated when we were young. After that, our lives went in different directions.
I stayed with Dad.
Averic stayed with Mom.
Dad had money, influence, and a name that opened doors before we even touched them. Mom had her small fashion business and a quiet life away from the people Dad surrounded himself with.
We grew up differently.
But not separately.
At least, not in the ways that mattered.
We talked almost every day.
Sometimes for hours.
Sometimes for only a few minutes.
Sometimes we didn’t even have anything important to say.
We just liked knowing the other was there.
“So,” I said, settling against my pillows, “how’s Graven?”
There was a short pause.
“Fine.”
“Just fine?”
“Yeah.”
I frowned.
“You sound tired.”
“I am.”
“Did you sleep?”
“A little.”
“Averic.”
“What?”
“You know you’re terrible at lying, right?”
He laughed.
“I wasn’t lying.”
“You were avoiding the question.”
“Maybe.”
I smiled despite myself.
“Still hate the university?”
“Not the university.”
“Then the people?”
Silence.
I sat up a little.
“Averic?”
“Some people are just annoying.”
“Who?”
“No one important.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I know.”
I stared at the ceiling.
There was something about his voice.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing alarming.
Just... different.
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I wasn’t convinced.
But then he laughed again, and whatever strange feeling had settled in my chest slowly disappeared.
“Anyway,” he said, “how’s your life?”
“Boring.”
“You live in a mansion.”
“And?”
“You have everything.”
“Except my annoying twin.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled.
“I miss you.”
The words came out more quietly than I intended.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then he answered.
“I miss you too.”
I closed my eyes.
There were days when I hated how far apart we lived.
We were born minutes apart, yet somehow life had decided that we should grow up worlds away from each other.
“Come visit me,” he said.
“At Graven?”
“Where else?”
“Isn’t that place full of boys?”
“Obviously.”
“And you’re inviting me into that chaos?”
“You’re my sister. You’ll survive.”
“I don’t know. What if they scare me?”
He laughed.
“You? Scared?”
“Maybe.”
“Impossible.”
I smiled.
“I’ll visit soon.”
“You always say that.”
“This time I mean it.”
“You better.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
I paused.
“Promise.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, “I’ll wait.”
Something about those three words stayed with me.
I don’t know why.
Maybe because they sounded so ordinary.
Maybe because they were.
“Now go to sleep,” I told him.
“You first.”
“I called you annoying earlier, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure.”
He laughed.
I smiled.
“Goodnight, Averic.”
“Goodnight, Ave.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen for a moment before placing my phone on the bedside table.
My room was quiet again.
Outside my window, the city lights flickered in the distance.
I pulled the blanket over myself and closed my eyes.
Tomorrow, I would message him.
Maybe I would even start planning that visit to Graven.
I had no reason to think otherwise.
No reason to worry.
No reason to believe that anything had changed.
As far as I knew, my brother was safe.
He was alive.
And he was waiting for me.
At least, that was what I believed when I fell asleep.
