With that, he scrolled through his messages and soon found Sophie's DM. As if she had somehow sensed that he was online, she called him almost immediately.
He answered at once.
"STAN, you're back!"
"Yes, I'm back. You don't have to worry. I'm okay." He smiled softly as he replied.
"I know what I said. I said I would be fine. I said I would not check. I said I would trust the timeline. I have been lying to myself for seventy-two hours."
Underneath the heat there was a small, tight quaver, the sound of a young woman who had held herself together in public for three days and was, on a private line, finally permitting herself not to.
His expression softened slightly.
"I'm okay," he said gently. "On my way home now. Wrapped up early."
"You came back early."
"I came back early."
"...Good." A breath. "Your home, or mine?"
"Mine. First. I need a shower and about ten minutes with a wall."
That earned a faint snort of amusement from the other end of the line.
"Fine. Tomorrow."
