“Hello?”
“Nathan? Oh my God, are you okay?”
Lead hardened in Nathan’s stomach—Leven. “I…”
“Wade told me something major happened, but she wouldn’t tell me what. Said I needed to wait things out until you contacted us, but we haven’t heard from you in forever, and Cam’s not telling me anything, and you missed the musical—”
“Leven,” Nathan interrupted harsher than he intended. “Just…breathe, kid, okay? I’m fine. I just…I was away for a while.”
“But you’re back now? And everything’s okay?” The kid sounded as boisterous and full of life as ever.
Nathan closed his eyes tight and clenched the hand not holding his phone. “Yep. Never better. We’ll come see you guys soon, okay? Soon. We just…have some things to take care of, ya know?”