PIPER
I fall asleep with Timofey's warmth blanketing me, his heart beating against my back.
The next time I open my eyes, I'm alone.
I know immediately that he isn't behind me. But I know he isn't in the room, either. It's the way animals know a storm is coming. Some mechanism deep inside of me that registers the difference in the air. The lack of him.
I roll over, arm stretched across the cold mattress. He's been gone for a while, then. Long enough for his body heat to fade from the blankets.
I wipe sleep from my eyes and sit up. His phone isn't on the bedside table and his wallet isn't in the cup on the dresser.
Would he have gone to the gala without me?
"No." I shake my head and lay back on the pillows. Wherever he is, I'm sure he'll be back soon.
