DAISY

I couldn't move. My bare feet felt like they were glued completely to the cold marble floor of my bedroom. The warm, happy sensation of Leo’s lips pressing against my knuckles just a few minutes ago instantly evaporated, replaced by a sudden wave of pure, freezing panic.

“Brian,” I managed to whisper. My voice sounded incredibly small, breathless, and completely guilty in the darkness of the quiet room.

There was a long, suffocating pause on the other end of the line. I could hear the faint, steady buzz of the city traffic from his end, thousands of miles away across the ocean. But his breathing was entirely controlled. Too...