Chapter 78

Ring! Ring!

“Hello?” Ari answered her cell phone on the first ring, recognizing Grayson’s ring. “Grayson? What’s wrong?”

At first, there was silence at the other end. “I miss you, Ari.” His voice ws low, breathy.

“I miss you, too.” Ari smiled, leaning back against her pillow. “But I have to stay until after Henley’s Stem Cell Transplant.”

“I know,” he whispered, sounding lonely. “Just promise me that you’ll come home as soon as you can.”

“I will.” Ari sat up, propping herself up with her elbow, her eyebrows pulling together in concern. “Grayson, what’s wrong?”

There was a long pause, but she could hear his soft breathing on the other end.

“Grayson? You’re scaring me.”

“No, it’s all right. I shouldn’t have called,” Grayson replied. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Ari stood and paced the floor. “Grayson, no. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Grayson sighed. “I’m just lost without you. And with this investigation still ongoing—”