DAXTON POV
Maria’s panicked face will haunt me forever. The sheer terror in her wide, glassy eyes, the way her trembling lips could barely form words as she screamed, “Call him back!” It felt like watching her break all over again.
A second ago, she had been eating pizza with us on the edge of the motel bed, her laughter hesitant but real, like she was finally coming up for air after nearly drowning. And then my phone pinged. A stupid notification, nothing more. But that sound flipped a switch in her.
Her breathing turned shallow, erratic. “Call him back!” she screamed again, clutching her chest like it hurt to breathe. “Call your dad! Tell him—tell him—”
She couldn’t even finish. Her words dissolved into gasping sobs, and I froze, my mind racing to figure out what the hell had just ha
