Page 66 of Siren Problems
The way his voice broke.
The way his body held mine like a lifeline.
The way he begged me to leave him behind.
One night,I find a tideprint in the sand behind the lab.
Large.
Deliberate.
I kneel beside it, fingers hovering over the indent like it might still be warm.
I don’t call his name.
I don’t run after him.
But I sit there until the tide washes it away.
Because some part of me needs to believe he’s still watching.
Stillwondering.
Like I am.
A week passes.
Then two.
I finish the final scans of the rift zone and prep a full spectral overlay of the altar structure. My hands move automatically. My mind doesn’t.
Because I’ve already made my choice.
I’ll give them the data.
Then I’ll give them hell.
And when I’m done...
I’ll come back here.
Tohim.
If he lets me.
If he hasn’t turned to mist and memory by then.
But I won’t chase a man who won’t fight for himself.
Not even if I love him.
Especially if I love him.
I’melbow-deep in relic dust and artifact residue when Lyle waltzes into the lab uninvited.
He’s wearing a “Crabs Are Just Salty Spiders” t-shirt, carrying a smoothie, and wielding the emotional subtlety of a drunk selkie at open mic night.
“Hey,” he says casually, sliding up to the table with the energy of a seagull about to steal fries. “So... just wondering, are you and Calder, like... broken up or whatever?”
