After Carl ended the call, he closed the laptop with a wide smile on his face. It wasn't a dream. Ryan was really back and was in the next room waiting for him.
He didn't know if this meant Ryan wanted to build a life with him, but he was going to try anyway. He stood and headed to the bedroom, but Ryan wasn't there.
Carl's heart dropped. A familiar ache welled up in his chest, and it felt like he was back in the nightmares that had plagued him in the past year.
He checked the bathroom, empty.
The living room, empty.
The kitchen, also empty.
Ryan had left again.
But Adalia and Jasmine were still there. Jasmine was crawling under a couch, maybe looking for her toy, maybe hiding one of his shoes, while Adelia was curled up on the rug, slowly grooming herself.
